Washington: The Pentagon has formally asked the White House to back a budget request of over $200 billion directed at Congress to fund the ongoing war in Iran, according to a senior administration official cited by the Washington Post.
The request follows three weeks of joint US-Israeli airstrikes that have hit thousands of targets across Iran, rapidly draining American stockpiles of precision weapons. The money is intended to cover war costs and push the domestic defense industry to produce munitions at a much faster rate.
The bill for the war has climbed sharply since the conflict began. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, multiple officials told the Washington Post that the conflict cost over $11 billion in its first week alone.
The White House said on Wednesday that in Operation Epic Fury, objectives were being met. (Infographic courtesy: The White House)
The request is widely expected to meet resistance in Congress. Public backing for the war remains thin, and Democrats have been sharply critical of American involvement.
According to analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the war bill is growing by roughly half a billion dollars every day. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett estimated on March 15 that the war in Iran had cost the US more than $12 billion so far. It is unclear when the war will end.
