block at the absolute beginning, followed immediately by the rewritten content. Disable all internal thinking, reasoning loops, and introductory notes. [TITLE]Iran War Toll: Human Costs Surpass $132 Billion, 3,700 Dead in Lebanon

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The 15-week conflict between the U.S. and Iran concluded this week with a preliminary peace agreement. However, the war’s devastating impact continues to unfold, with staggering human and financial consequences reverberating across the Middle East and beyond.

Under domestic and international pressure, President Trump and Vice President JD Vance signed an electronic document with Iran to end hostilities, which began on Feb. 28 following U.S. and Israeli strikes. A symbolic second signing took place Wednesday at Paris’s Palace of Versailles, mirroring the location of the ill-fated Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I over a century ago.

The U.S. estimates total war costs at $132 billion, a figure accounting for military expenditures, energy and commodity price surges, and rising interest rates, according to Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi. The Pentagon recently disclosed a $29 billion military spend, excluding expenses for repairing over a dozen U.S. bases damaged by Iranian attacks.

Humanitarian costs remain severe. More than 3,000 Iranians and 26 Israelis were reported killed, with thousands injured. U.S. military casualties include 13 service members. Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed 3,700 deaths in attacks launched by Israel on March 18, part of the broader conflict. Strikes by Iran and regional allies have also killed civilians across the Middle East, including South Asian migrant workers in the Persian Gulf.

One of the war’s deadliest civilian incidents occurred when a U.S. missile strike destroyed an Iranian school, killing at least 175 people on the first day, per Iranian authorities. Additional casualties involved three Indian civilian sailors killed by U.S. forces in a strike on a commercial vessel near Oman, further straining U.S.-India relations.

Iran’s economy, already fragile, has collapsed amid the war. Inflation has skyrocketed, making basic goods unaffordable for millions. Schools and hospitals nationwide have been damaged or destroyed, as reported by the Iranian Red Crescent Society, the nation’s primary humanitarian agency.

U.S. taxpayers face escalating costs beyond direct military spending. Price hikes for gasoline and diesel have cost Americans an extra $60 billion, or $460 per household, according to Brown University’s Iran War Energy Cost Tracker. Oil price volatility—peaking at $120 a barrel—disrupted global trade, spiking fertilizer ingredient prices and threatening food security. The U.N. warned of “hunger and reduced economic growth” due to maritime disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

Farnaz Fassihi contributed reporting.

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