DOMINANT ANGLE
Mexico City details the American bill before measuring its impact on inflation and energy prices that also affect its economy.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The war has cost $38.1 billion as of August 1, with a possible overrun of $2 to $3 billion per month according to the CBO
- 02
The CBO forecasts higher US inflation of around 0.5 percentage points through the first quarter of 2027, linked to the decline in shipments via the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions in the Red Sea
- 03
The Pentagon acknowledges that stocks of Patriot and THAAD interceptors are critically low and will take years to replenish
ANALYSIS
Mexico, September 16, 2026. The Mexican press is reporting, figure by figure, the tally drawn up by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on the American war against Iran: $38.1 billion spent as of August 1, and up to $3 billion more each month if the conflict continues, according to the non-partisan agency cited by El Norte and Vanguardia MX. This total matches two previous counts, the $37.5 billion mentioned in July by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth before the Senate, and the $33.4 billion calculated by the Pentagon's inspector general for the period from February 28 to June 30.
Vanguardia MX emphasizes that this calculation was produced at the request of Democratic Representative Brendan Boyle, of the House Budget Committee, and does not include expenses related to military personnel killed, wounded, or receiving medical care after nearly seven months of attacks. The newspaper also reports the most sensitive projection for the Mexican economy: the CBO anticipates that the war will fuel American inflation until the first quarter of 2027, with a price increase of around 0.5 percentage points higher than previous forecasts, due to the decrease in oil and gas shipments through the Strait of Ormuz and disruptions to maritime traffic in the Red Sea.
El Financiero details the second part of the bill, the replenishment of ammunition stocks. The Pentagon acknowledges, in a report cited by the newspaper, that the Patriot and THAAD anti-missile interceptors are among the weapons whose reserves are already critically low, consumed by both Iranian strikes against American forces and the defense of Israel. Despite President Trump's statements about continuous production, the newspaper recalls that ammunition is traditionally the variable adjustment in the Pentagon's budgets, sacrificed for the benefit of ships, tanks, and combat aircraft, a choice that will now take years to correct.
For the Mexican press, these three concordant evaluations - CBO, Hegseth, and inspector general - establish a figure that goes beyond the American budget debate: it affects energy prices and inflation, on which the Mexican economy also depends, integrated as it is into North American trade flows.
