Pentagon Wants $200 Billion For Iran War. It's Nearly 50% Of Tehran's GDP

In the first week alone, the US had spent over $11 billion on its military campaign. Now, combined with an additional $200 billion, the American expenditure on war could exceed more than half of Iran's annual gross domestic product (GDP), which stood at $356.51 billion in 2025.

19 Mar 2026, 05:55 · NDTV

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The Pentagon seeks over $200 billion from Congress for the Iran war funding
The Iran war spending could exceed half of Iran's 2025 GDP of $356.51 billion
Congress approved $838.5 billion defense funding for the 2026 fiscal year

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The Pentagon is reportedly seeking over $200 billion from the US Congress to fund President Donald Trump's war of choice in Iran. If approved, the war funds will boost the US military campaign that began on February 28 and ramp up the production of weapons used during the conflict, according to a report by The Washington Post.

It's been nearly three weeks since the US, along with Israel, began airstrikes against Iran to dismantle what the US military calls the "Iranian regime's security apparatus." So far, American forces have struck more than 7,800 targets and made over 8,000 combat flights and damaged or destroyed more than 120 Iranian vessels, according to U.S. Central Command.

In the first week alone, the US had spent over $11 billion on its military campaign. Now, combined with an additional $200 billion, the American expenditure on war could exceed more than half of Iran's annual gross domestic product (GDP), which stood at $356.51 billion in 2025, according to World Meters.

Congress has already approved $838.5 billion in defence funding for the 2026 fiscal year, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Inside Pentagon's New Request

The Pentagon has asked the White House to approve a more than $200 billion request to the US Congress to fund the Iran war, the Washington Post report said, citing a senior administration official. It remains unclear how much money the White House will ultimately ask the lawmakers to approve. But the newspaper explained that the funding request is likely to stage a major political battle in Congress "as public support for the effort remains tepid and Democrats have been sharply critical."

Republicans have reportedly signalled their support for the forthcoming supplemental request but haven't committed to a legislative strategy or found a clear path to surpass the Senate's 60-vote rule.

Not all White House officials are sure that the Pentagon's request has a realistic shot of being approved in Congress. The Pentagon has reportedly floated several different proposed funding requests over the past two weeks of the war.

Trump's Anti-War Rant Against Biden

Trump has campaigned on ending American adventurism abroad and frequently targeted the Biden administration for the amount of money approved to finance the war in Ukraine. By December, Congress had approved roughly $188 billion in spending for the war in Ukraine, according to the US special inspector general for Operation Atlantic Resolve. If approved, the new number would far surpass the costs of America's massive military campaign in Ukraine.

Pentagon's Multiple Demands

The Trump administration started preparing an additional funding request to help cover the war costs shortly after the joint US-Israeli campaign began late last month. The process is often required to ensure the military can maintain its readiness to defend against threats around the world, even during wartime.

Inside the Pentagon, the efforts were reportedly led by Deputy Defence Secretary Steven Feinberg, who has focused for the past year on increasing production of precision munitions and bettering the American defence industry.

Feinberg's office has put together a number of packages in a bid to quickly address the Pentagon's munitions shortage and jolt the country's at times sluggish defence industry, The Washington Post report said.

Even before the Iran war, Trump had called for a $1.5 trillion defence budget, a more than 50 per cent increase from the previous year.

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