ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The United States Department of Defence has requested about $200bn in additional funding to sustain its ongoing war with Iran, in a move that signals a sharp escalation in military spending and growing uncertainty over the duration of the conflict.
The Pentagon has asked the White House to approve the request and forward it to Congress, with the proposed figure nearly doubling the total amount previously approved for Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, according to reports.
Confirming the development, US President Donald Trump described the conflict as unpredictable, stressing the need for increased military preparedness.
“We are being very judicious. We want to have vast amounts of ammunition, but it was taken down by giving so much to Ukraine,” Trump said during a White House event.
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Available data from a special inspector-general report shows that Congress had approved about $188bn for Ukraine, with roughly $110bn already spent as of December last year, underscoring the scale of Washington’s financial commitments to global conflicts.
Defending the fresh request, Trump insisted that the funding was necessary to maintain the United States’ military edge.
“We want to be in the best shape we’ve ever been in. It’s a small price to pay to make sure that we stay at the top,” he added.
Although US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the $200bn figure, he emphasised the importance of increased funding to confront emerging threats.
“It takes money to deal with bad actors,” Hegseth said, noting that additional resources would be required to prepare for potential future operations.
Meanwhile, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett disclosed that the conflict has already cost the United States about $12bn, highlighting the growing financial burden of the war.
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The timeline of the conflict remains uncertain. When US and Israeli forces launched strikes on Iran on February 28, Trump initially projected that the war could last between four and five weeks. However, he later acknowledged that it may take longer.
Despite recent optimism from Washington that the war could end soon, Iranian authorities have pushed back on such projections, insisting that the timeline will ultimately be determined by Tehran.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said, “Iran will determine when the war ends,” a statement that underscores the deepening tensions and lack of a clear path to de-escalation.