USAupdated 2h ago3 min read
Moody’s Mark Zandi Says Iran War Costs American Households About $2,000
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Average U.S. household is about $2,000 worse off due to the Iran war. Total U.S. economic impact estimated at about $265 billion.
Households face $2,000 bill
Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi estimated that the Iran war has cost US consumers about $265 billion since it started in late February, which he said equates to about $2,000 in higher costs for the average American household. Zandi told CNN, “Many Americans have rightly connected the dots between the Iran War and the painfully high cost of living and thus want the war to end,” as the analysis tied the shock to higher fuel prices and borrowing costs. The Pentagon told lawmakers in September that the Iran war has cost $45.1 billion, CNN reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, while the same CNN account said the estimate does not include the cost to repair damaged US bases or buildings in the region.
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in three years, and Moody’s found that average 30-year fixed rate mortgage rates reached 7.4%, a nearly three-year high. Zandi estimated that higher interest rates have cost the typical household about $360, while higher fuel prices cost families $1,100 since the war started.
Campaign debate over costs
In a South Carolina U.S. Senate debate, They argued over the reasons for high gas and diesel prices, with the candidates citing the Iran war and government regulations.
Graham said, “When the war ends, gas prices will fall,” and she also alleged that “The Democrats regulate everything to death,” while Andrews criticized Graham’s support for the Iran war for “diesel prices that are crushing our shrimpers and our farmers and our truckers and making everything cost more.”
The debate also addressed healthcare and Medicaid, as Andrews said she would push to restore Medicaid funding “so that we can keep our rural hospitals open.”
Graham disputed Andrews’ claim about the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” saying it “provided $50 billion over a five-year period to rural hospitals,” and she added that South Carolina received $200,000 of that funding just this year to support rural hospitals.
The same Greenville Online fact-checking account said the average price of gas in South Carolina was $3.98 a gallon on Oct. 12, compared with $3.08 a gallon a year ago.
War aims, Hormuz, and politics
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei posted on X that “The US has agreed to some of Iran’s seven conditions, but we consider its response INADEQUATE,” and he said “Iranian diplomacy has changed and there will be no return to the status quo ante.” The same account said President Donald Trump told reporters the United States would not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections and described talks with Tehran as “productive,” while the diplomatic impasse played out at sea through Washington’s enforcement of its blockade of Iran. US Central Command said a US fighter jet struck the stern of the Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica, also known as the Arika Sun, after the vessel left an Iranian port and ignored repeated warnings as it attempted to breach the blockade.
The Washington Post described Houthi missile strikes at a passenger terminal at Riyadh’s international airport that killed at least a dozen people, injured more than 300, and froze all flights, linking the security shock to broader questions about whether Saudi Arabia’s interests conflict with Washington’s war aims in Iran and with Israel’s goals. The economic pressure from the Iran war was framed as a political risk ahead of the November midterms, with CNN reporting that just 27% of Americans approve of Trump on the economy and 28% call economic conditions good, according to a September CNN poll.