"It Costs Money to Take Out Bad Guys"...U.S. Weighs $200 Billion Request for War with Iran

Financial News, New York City — Lee Byung-chulAs the United States considers securing up to $200 billion (about 270 trillion won) in additional funding in case its war with Iran drags on, the cost of the conflict is snowballing. Less than three weeks after the war began, tens of billions of dollars have already been spent, and the fiscal burden is expected to rise sharply if military operations expand.

At a Pentagon briefing on the 19th (local time), United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the size of the budget request related to the war with Iran "could be adjusted."
His remark referred to reports that the administration is considering asking Congress for as much as $200 billion in war funding. The Washington Post earlier reported that the U.S. Department of Defense had asked the White House to approve a budget request exceeding $200 billion to respond to a possible expansion of the war.
Hegseth stressed the need for a massive budget, saying, "It costs money to take out bad guys." He added, "We will work with Congress to secure the necessary funds in an appropriate way."

Congress has also begun to discuss the issue. According to congressional sources, the Trump administration has been informally reviewing a war funding request of up to $200 billion, but no formal submission has been made yet.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said, "That scale has been discussed informally within the administration."
However, whether Congress will approve the request remains uncertain. The prolonged war is likely to trigger intense debate over the fiscal burden and the political ramifications.
In reality, the cost of the war is rising quickly. According to Kevin Hassett, chair of the White House National Economic Council (NEC), U.S. military operations against Iran that began on February 28 had already cost $12 billion by the middle of this month.
Hassett said in an interview with CBS that "for now, there is no need for an additional budget request," but as the war intensifies, the situation appears to be changing rapidly.

U.S. military operations are also expanding rapidly. Hegseth stated, "So far we have struck more than 7,000 targets across Iran," and warned, "The scale of our attacks will grow further."
He said, "Today will see the largest attack to date," claiming, "America’s military capabilities are strengthening, while Iran’s capabilities are being degraded."
He went on to say, "We will continue to track and strike," making clear his intention to escalate the war.
The proposed large-scale budget is expected to focus not only on covering operational costs but also on ramping up production of key munitions. Since the war began, the United States and Israel have struck thousands of targets, consuming large quantities of precision-guided weapons.
Hegseth emphasized, "The budget request is not only for the operations we have conducted so far but also for future missions," adding, "We will go beyond merely replenishing our ammunition and ensure we have ample stockpiles."


pride@fnnews.com Reporter Lee Byung-chul Reporter