Hegseth says no ‘timeframe’ for war on Iran as Pentagon asks for $200bn
Al Jazeera
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hints war funding may change, leaving timeline decisions to President Trump.
The Pentagon is seeking an additional $200bn from Congress to fund the United States-Israel war with Iran, a conflict Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warns has no “timeframe” for ending.
Asked about the figure on Thursday, Hegseth did not directly confirm the amount but said that it could change.
“As far as $200bn, I think that number could move. Obviously, it takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said. “We’re going back to Congress and folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded for what’s been done, for what we may have to do in the future.”
The Associated Press and Washington Post reported that the US Department of Defense had requested the sum from the White House.
It’s an extraordinarily high number and comes on top of extra funding the Defense Department already received last year as part of President Donald Trump’s July tax-cuts bill. Such a request would need to be approved by Congress, and it is not at all clear that such spending would have political support.
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