The US-Iran War is scrambling the Pentagon’s funding. Due to the latest attacks, the US Defense Department is finally admitting that its $1.5 trillion budget is rapidly going dry. The latest funding crunch has limited military-related operations, including military training and readiness. But other factors from the Trump administration have affected its unwise spending, resulting in the national debt now reaching nearly $40 trillion.
The ICE Raids
The first sign of the Pentagon’s financial problems was the increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). US President Donald Trump has utilized its workers to terrorize the nation by hunting down any civilian who is deemed a criminal threat. Whether these individuals are living in the country illegally, through special permits and green cards, or have US citizenship, ICE’s actions have shown the failure of protecting the home front.
ICE soldiers have repeatedly demonstrated their racial discrimination, xenophobia, and cruel tactics to advance the Trump administration’s agenda. The participants have resorted to unwarranted searches, non-approved executive orders, disturbances of the public peace, forced family separations, and murdering innocents, including Nurse Alex Pretti and Minnesota native Renee Nicole Good. ICE even had the honor of embarrassing itself at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics.
According to Factually, the Pentagon has expected and allocated around $75 billion for the defense organization’s war chest funding. What was supposed to be its 4-year budget has already been depleted by 28 percent. Its foundation began with $10 billion in 2025, then blew through $11.3 billion in 2026 alone.
Hegseth’s Unclassified Boat Strikes
Congress has been carefully monitoring US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth since his first naval strike in the Caribbean. The Pentagon assigned and directed naval fleets to strike any boats that may be suspected of being co-conspirators of the drug syndicate Tren de Araguas.
He was ridiculed after sources learned about his second boat strike on Sept. 2. The Special Operations Command complied and informed that 2 of the 11 passengers from the unclassified ship survived. Using a second strike to ensure there were no survivors violates Article 16 of the Geneva Conventions, which protects shipwreck survivors after a naval assault.
The boat was later identified as a non-cargo ship from San Juan de Unare, further questioning Hegseth’s logic on eliminating passing vessels. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) were alerted as the death count rose to 160. Members who participated in the organization’s 195th session have agreed that his orders are illegal.
The issue extended into December, when the Pentagon was pressured to release the unedited version of the videos of Hegseth’s double-tap order. Congress warned the Defense Secretary that they would freeze his travel fund if he did not comply with their annual defense policy bill, which was in its final draft at the time.
Lawmakers eventually passed it, and Trump did sign it after Hegseth and his colleagues refused to release the unedited footage more broadly. The situation grew worse as the boat strikes death count rose to 221 and his strikes were found to be linked to the Feb. 28 Minab all-girls elementary school bombing.
The Pentagon’s lack of response on the matter has cost the US government gravely. Intercept calculated that taxpayers paid during the August 2025-March 2026 period $4.7 billion for these actions.
The Iran War Supercycle
Since the US involvement in the Iran War, taxpayers are trapped in a vicious Supercycle. A Supercycle is defined by economic growth or decline driven by specific demands. The Pentagon has greatly expanded its military weaponry and recruitment.
US Defense Department officials have stated that their daily spending on their Middle Eastern operations is $2 billion. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren expressed concern back in the US Senate’s March interrogations. She and her allies pleaded with the involved parties, including Strategic Admiral Richard Cornell, demanding clarification.
The Massachusetts Senator has even noted Trump’s fixation on the Strait of Hormuz: “[…] When he sees gas prices skyrocket, Donald Trump changes his tune and starts begging our allies to help us to patrol [Hormuz]. And our partners said they want to, only if the fighting stops.”
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and non-members have rejected offering the United States and Israel support in their efforts to destroy Iran. Due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s mission to neutralize Iran’s energy, many countries refused to send international reinforcements to prevent another global war.
By the war’s 108th day (Jun. 16, 2026), the Trump administration had spent $113 billion on the conflict. With the on-and-off peace deals, the spending is gradually increasing the US national debt. Hegseth revealed the updated expenses when the latest peace deal was broken on Jul. 9. At the Senate hearing, the Defense Secretary mentioned an additional $37.5 billion was spent, as reported by ABC Australia.
The Unprofitable Military Bid
In recent months, the President’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., have assisted the Pentagon in additional investments. The brothers financially backed any government businesses that devoted their services to the Iran War effort. According to AOL, these companies provide an assortment of weapon tech, including assault drones and AI.
97% of the revenue is generated by their leading partners, SpaceX and Anduril. 10 of 15 Trump-linked companies have been operating under government contracts for years before the President returned to the White House. However, the Trump Brothers are seeing very little profit, as they only bought in $6.3 billion through their ventures
The Pentagon has invested in artificial intelligence for domestic surveillance and automated weaponry. Their current partner, OpenAI, was allocated $110 billion on Feb. 27 after accepting Hegseth’s terms. Their previous AI partner, Anthropic, has refused to allow their LLM model, Claude, to be misused by the US government. The ensuing months have unfortunately proven that their business is unstable.
On Jun. 16, OpenAI’s annual financial reports were breached and leaked to the public. The 2024-2025 expenses outweigh the earnings. Since Sam Altman severed its non-profit roots, the company has lost $46.4 billion, after only earning $16.7 billion in revenue. Earlier reports have warned about Altman’s pursuit of punishing watchdogs with subpoenas.
Pentagon Spending Drags US to Speedy Depression
With the Pentagon attempting to save face, many US citizens are already convinced that a second Great Depression is underway. President Trump is attempting to gather allies that will provide fuel for the war. He has made a rushed decision to join Saudi Arabia’s nuclear deal under the Abraham Accords contingency plan. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt has clarified that he has not negotiated with the Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud.
