Who profits from the war on Iran? | This is America

Wed, 06 May 2026 21:53:33 +0000

In this episode of This Is America, hosted by Cyril Vanier, Al Jazeera examines the business of war in the US–Israel war on Iran – and asks which US companies stand to benefit as military spending and energy prices surge.

From Huntsville, Alabama – America’s “rocket city” – Richard Gaisford shows how a town that once helped NASA reach the Moon has become a powerhouse of the US defence industrial base. As global conflicts rage and weapons spending increases, billions of dollars from major contractors have been invested in Huntsville. Technology developed here is now playing a key role in the conflict in the Middle East, bringing highly paid jobs and fuelling a real-estate boom. But city planners warn against over-reliance on these “war dividends”, even as the US defence secretary pushes for a 40% increase in military spending.

In Washington, DC, Cyril notes that while no one has clearly won or lost on the battlefield in the US war on Iran, the picture is very different financially. Some sectors have already won big: the US defence industry and American oil and gas – while American consumers are paying higher prices.

On Capitol Hill, Manuel Rapalo follows lawmakers as they consider a record jump in military spending, including a proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget and extra funds to sustain the war. He examines how much of that money will flow to private defence contractors, and the calls in Congress for tighter oversight.

In the studio, Rosiland Jordan – who has covered the Pentagon, State Department and White House under multiple US presidents – explains how the war on Iran is reshaping the global energy market. The US has become a net exporter of crude oil for the first time since World War II, while Europe and Asia have grown increasingly dependent on crude from the Americas since the conflict began. The US–Israel war on Iran has helped trigger a major disruption to global energy supplies, with the S&P 500 energy sector heavily outperforming the broader market. At the same time, weapons manufacturers were already enjoying record revenues from Gaza and Ukraine before Iran, and are now benefiting from the need to replenish missiles, interceptors and other systems.

Alex Baird breaks down the numbers, showing how energy giants and defence companies have seen profits and share prices soar since the war started – from oil and LNG exporters plugging the gap left by Gulf disruptions, to defence firms reporting double‑digit jumps in earnings.

In the studio discussion, Cyril is joined by Dan Grazier, Senior Fellow and Director of the National Security Reform Program at the Stimson Center, and Paolo von Schirach, President of the Global Policy Institute, who debate whether the expansion of the defence and energy industries has helped create a permanent war economy in the United States – one in which high defence budgets, sprawling contractor networks and intensive lobbying risk blurring the line between legitimate security needs and the economic interests that gain from continued conflict.

This Is America asks: as defence firms, energy producers and financial markets profit from the war on Iran, can US leaders truly separate war and peace decisions from the powerful business interests that stand to gain – or has the business of war become too embedded in the American economy to unwind?

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