Pentagon seeks over $200 billion in budget request for Iran war – WaPo

The Pentagon has ‌asked the White House to approve a more ⁠than $200 billion request to the U.S. Congress to fund the war in ‌Iran, ⁠the Washington Post reported ⁠citing a senior administration official.

The figure would far surpass the cost of the U.S. military campaign against Iran to date and is intended to urgently expand production of critical weapons depleted since the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran started on Feb. 28, the report said.

It remains unclear how much the White House will ultimately ask Congress to approve, as some administration officials believe the Department of Defense request has little chance of passing, according to the report, which cited a senior Trump administration official speaking on condition of anonymity.

The cost of the U.S. strikes on Iran has rapidly grown, exceeding 11 billion dollars in the first week alone, the report said, citing multiple officials.

Before launching the massive attacks on Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump had proposed a $1.5 trillion defense budget for 2027, a more than 50 per cent increase from the previous year.

It remains unclear how and whether the supplemental may count toward that total, said the report. 

The U.S. and Israel launched what they described as a pre-emptive strike against Iran on February 28, claiming that Tehran was developing a nuclear weapon and posed a threat—an allegation Iran has denied. In response, Iran launched counterattacks, firing missiles and drones at Israel, as well as at U.S. assets and other targets across the Middle East.