US federal debt becoming ‘alarmingly unsustainable’ as Iran war fuels spending: analysts

2026.03.20 02:20 US sovereign debt has soared in recent years, with analysts warning that the Iran war could fuel even greater borrowing. Photo: AP The United States’ rapidly mounting sovereign debt pile – which reached an unprecedented US$39 trillion on Wednesday – is becoming “alarmingly unsustainable” and a potential threat to the global economy, with spending likely to spiral even further amid the Iran war, analysts said. It remains unclear whether US President Donald Trump has the political will to rein in borrowing, despite promising to eliminate the national debt while campaigning for office in 2016, and other countries including China taking concrete steps to reduce government leverage, observers said. There is also a risk that a more heavily indebted US government could “abuse its global status”, causing a spillover into a global economy already feeling the impact of the Middle East oil shock, they added. Bala Ramasamy, an economics professor at the China Europe International Business School, said the cost of the “alarmingly unsustainable” federal debt build-up would ultimately fall on the American people rather than Trump himself. “At the end of the day, Trump is not going to pay,” he said. “[He’ll] kick the can to the next administration in less than three years, and the next president may probably do the same, knowing the world will just lend to the US.” “This is an act making full use of – or abusing – America’s superpower status,” he added. US federal borrowing has soared by US$2 trillion in just the past few months, with sovereign debt reaching US$37 trillion in August, US$38 trillion in October and then US$39 trillion this week. If current trends continue, it will surpass US$40 trillion by the midterm elections later this year, according to a forecast by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. The rising federal debt level contrasts with Trump’s pledges to erase the debt during his first presidential campaign in 2016 and after he took office. When he began

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