Pentagon needs $80bn for Iran war, other bills, WSJ reports

WASHINGTON: The US Department of Defence needs $80 billion to cover costs from the Iran war as well as other non-war-related bills, Deputy Defence Secretary Stephen Feinberg told lawmakers in phone calls this week, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

A full US supplemental request, which will include money for the Pentagon as well as non-defence priorities such as farm and disaster relief, could be sent to lawmakers in the coming days, the newspaper added.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The Pentagon declined to comment. The White House was not immediately available for comment outside business hours when contacted by Reuters.

Pentagon leaders have said they risk running out of money for operations in the coming months unless Congress passes a new wartime spending bill, the newspaper said. The military may need to cut back on training and troop deployment along the US-Mexico border as part of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, it added.

A full supplemental request could be sent to lawmakers in coming days

Some of the $80bn, if approved, would go towards munitions, personnel pay and ship operations, the Journal cited a source as saying.

The Iran war has cost around $25bn, a Pentagon official told Reuters in April providing the first official estimate of war costs. However, the full cost of the conflict, which Trump began alongside Israel on February 28, has remained an open question on Capitol Hill and an initial $200bn request for additional funding met stiff opposition from lawmakers.

White House budget director Russell Vought told a hearing in April of the House of Representatives Budget Committee that he had no estimate for the cost of the war, as he defended Trump’s request for a $1.5 trillion annual military budget.

The proposed budget reflects Republican priorities ahead of November’s midterm elections, where the party is trying to keep control of Congress but is facing growing voter anxiety over rising living costs, high energy prices and the financial burden of the Iran war.

Trump has faced backlash from Americans who accuse him of pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into the Middle East conflict while oil prices and inflation skyrocket in the United States.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2026