Washington DC: If Donald Trump and his administration had hoped that eliminating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will force Iran into submission, they were wrong.
Nineteen days after joint US-Israeli strikes killed Ayatollah and several leaders of the Islamic regime in Tehran, Iran continues to be battered by heavy bombardment but is in no mood to surrender as it is striking back with retaliatory strikes on US bases in the Gulf region.
Even as the US has been claiming that Iran is badly “crippled”, the Pentagon has sought $200 billion in additional funds for the ongoing war. It’s a sizable amount that will raise questions in the Congress, which will have to approve any new fund even though it was not consulted before Trump decided to join Israel in strikes against Iran.
The US Defense department sent the request to the White House, according to a senior administration official, reported AP.
Asked about the amount Pentagon has asked for, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the figure at Thursday’s press conference, saying it could change.
“It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said.
“We’re going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded,” he stated.
The fund request comes on top of extra funding the Defense Department already received last year in President Trump’s big tax cuts bill.
Hegseth said America’s objectives in the war against Iran have not changed since strikes started on February 28.
“Our objectives, given directly from our America-first president, remain exactly what they were on day one,” Hegseth told reporters.
“These are not the media’s objectives, not Iran’s objectives, not new objectives. Our objectives — unchanged, on target and on plan,” Hegseth added, as he criticised the press for not reporting on the war accurately.
Hegseth cited the strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island as an example of how the US could control Iran’s fate, warning Iran against targeting Arab countries.
“The United States military controls the fate of that country,” he said.
