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Pentagon asks White House for $200bn more to fight Iran war - report
The Pentagon “has asked the White House to approve a more than $200bn request to Congress to fund the war in Iran, according to a senior administration official”, the Washington Post reports.The newspaper explains:
The funding request is likely to stage a major political battle in Congress, as public support for the effort remains tepid and Democrats have been sharply critical. Republicans have signaled support for the forthcoming supplemental request but haven’t committed to a legislative strategy, or found a clear path to surpass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
President Donald Trump campaigned on ending American adventurism abroad and frequently hammered the Biden administration for the amount of money approved to finance the war in Ukraine. By December, Congress had approved roughly $188 billion in spending for the war in Ukraine, according to the U.S. special inspector general for Operation Atlantic Resolve.
As the Post notes, Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised his predecessor for helping Ukraine defend its territory from the full-scale Russian invasion that began in 2022. But Trump has constantly exaggerated or lied about how much the US has spent to help Ukraine deter Russia, offering vastly inflated estimates that could make the cost of his war with Iran seem small by comparison.
Middle East crisis live: Pentagon reportedly requests $200bn in Iran war funds; Tehran retaliates after Israeli strike on gas field
Pentagon request could cause uproar in Congress, Washington Post reports; United Arab Emirates denounces Iran’s attacks targeting Habshan gas facility as a ‘dangerous escalation’
