The party that ignites the war rarely wins. Iran emerged with a weakened army and an economy suffering from sanctions. Israel achieved field victories, but without a clear strategic vision. As for American taxpayers, they are the ones bearing a bill approaching a billion dollars a day, with fuel prices rising by 60% everywhere.

In this context, a report by the “India Today” website, translated by “Lebanon 24”, stated that the real beneficiary is a specific sector, which enjoys strong funding and political influence, and is based in Virginia. This sector has accumulated its wealth from Ukraine, Iraq and Afghanistan, and is now getting richer from the Iranian issue: it is the American military industrial complex, the “real winner” in the Iranian war.

Tomahawk missile economy

The report explained in numbers the size of the US military sector’s profits: “850 Tomahawk missiles were launched in the first month of Operation Epic Fury, according to the Washington Post and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This is the largest use of this missile in a single conflict in America’s history. The cost of replacing one missile is $3.6 million, meaning a total of $3.1 billion was spent in just 30 days.”

This bill is paid by the taxpayer. The US Navy is now seeking to increase its Tomahawk purchases by 1,200% for the year 2027, with a value of $3 billion for 785 missiles, ordered from Raytheon (RTX), whose stock rose 67% in a year.

The loop is simple: war exhausts weapons, the taxpayer refinances them, and the contractor wins.

The report added: “RTX achieved revenues of $88.6 billion in 2025, an increase of 10%. Raytheon division profits rose by 22% thanks to demand for the Patriot and Tomahawk missiles. The company expects $93 billion in 2026, with confirmed orders in the pipeline worth $268 billion.”

Lockheed Martin’s stock has risen about 40% since the beginning of 2026. In January, the company signed an agreement to increase the production of THAAD missiles fourfold, noting that the cost of one missile is $12.77 million. In a documented incident during the war, 11 Patriot missiles ($4 million each) were launched to shoot down one Iranian missile at a low cost. Who paid for the Patriot missiles? taxpayer. Who resupplied it? “Raytheon.” Who made the profits? “RTX”.

As one analyst told Market Watch: “War can be good for business. The biggest threat to investors is peace.”

Emergency goes beyond the democratic path

The report continued: “The Pentagon is requesting $200 billion in additional funding for the war, in addition to a proposed 2027 defense budget of $1.5 trillion, a 66% increase from this year’s budget of $901 billion. The Department of Defense is the only federal agency that has not passed a financial audit in its history. On March 19, Secretary of State Marco Rubio used the emergency clause, bypassing Congress, to approve $16.5 billion in arms sales.” For the Emirates, Kuwait, and Jordan, then an additional deal worth $7 billion to the Emirates followed, through unannounced channels, and $23 billion was approved within 48 hours. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said: “Eliminating the bad guys requires money.”

Preparing for the next war

The report continued: “The Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon held talks with the heads of General Motors, Ford, GE Aerospace, and Oshkosh to convert auto factories to weapons production. The last time this happened was 1942. In Europe, defense spending reached 343 billion euros in 2024, an increase of 19%. Poland alone spent 4.8% of its GDP on defense in 2026, With US arms contracts worth $55 billion in two years, Jared Kushner, a member of the American delegation in the ceasefire negotiations with Iran, runs the investment company “Affinity Partners”, and its assets amounted to $6.2 billion at the end of 2025, an increase of 30%. The main investor is the Saudi Public Investment Fund, with $2 billion, followed by Qatar and Abu Dhabi. The House of Representatives Oversight Committee sent an official letter to the company in March 2026 indicating that the Saudis They “significantly increased” their commitments to “curry favor” with Kushner ahead of the possible return of his father-in-law to the White House.

The last number

The report concluded: “On April 15, the day Putin acknowledged a 1.8% contraction in the Russian economy, and Treasury Secretary Scott Besent ended oil exemptions for Iran and Russia, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit new highs. Oil prices are still 60% higher than at the beginning of 2026. The average citizen pays a tax on every commodity, while Wall Street has reached its historic peak. This is not a coincidence, it is a system: war Wealth is transferred to the top, to arms contractors, to investment funds, and to politicians who approve budgets, while the cost flows in the opposite direction.”