War With Iran Could Cost Israel $42 Billion

Study Predicts Massive Drop in Economic Prospects

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pushes to attack Iran are going to come at an enormous cost, and its not even just the cost of their huge military and the elaborate weapons used in the initial strike.

New estimates from Business Data Israel are claiming a cost of 167 billion NIS, or about $42 billion just in damage to the economy as the result of a war with Iran, predicting some $10 billion in lost hours, $2 billion in military costs and another $30 billion in lost trade.

Even this might be a modest estimate, analysts say, as the report explicitly did not attempt to take into account the impact of the war on oil price, which would likely be substantial itself, but it much harder to figure.

Israel’s banking chief Stanley Fischer warned earlier this month of the economic crisis that might result from an attack on Iran, but this is the first time that economic analysts have attempted to put an actual dollar figure on the matter.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.