By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): The United States says its war on Iran has now cost American taxpayers at least US$47.1 billion, and the economic fallout continues to reach Belize.
The Pentagon told US lawmakers that the cost of the war as of October 16 had risen to at least US$47.1 billion. The estimate includes about US$29 billion to replace bombs, bullets and other munitions used since the war began on February 28.
The figure is higher than earlier estimates of US$38 billion from the Congressional Budget Office in September and US$37.5 billion given by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in July. The CBO has said the war could cost US$2 billion to US$3 billion per month for as long as it continues.
For Belize, the biggest impact has come from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran shut the critical shipping route in early March. About one fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through it before the war, and its closure has sent fuel prices soaring and caused shortages around the world.
That has shown up directly on Belizean electricity bills. BEL Executive Chairman Lynn Young said this week that the diesel BEL buys has jumped from about $6 a gallon at the start of the year to close to $12. Mexico’s CFE, which supplies much of Belize’s power, has also raised prices as natural gas costs climb.
BEL has now asked the Public Utilities Commission to double the COPA cap from 5% to 10%, while government moves to buy $73 million in BEL preference shares to shore up the utility.
With the war now in its ninth month and no peace deal in sight, there is little sign of relief for fuel prices in Belize or abroad.
The post Iran war tops US$47 billion as Belizeans feel the pain through higher fuel and electricity costs appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): The United States says its war on Iran has now cost American taxpayers at least US$47.1 billion, and the economic fallout continues to reach Belize. The Pentagon told US lawmakers that the cost of the war as of October 16 had risen to at least US$47.1 billion. The estimate
The post Iran war tops US$47 billion as Belizeans feel the pain through higher fuel and electricity costs appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.