Trump may ask Arab countries to pay for Iran war, White House says
Photo: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (Getty Images)
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that US President Donald Trump is interested in asking Arab countries to cover the costs of the war with Iran, according to Reuters.
During a briefing, Leavitt was asked whether Arab countries were ready to help the United States cover the costs of the war. In response, she said she did not want to get ahead of the President or speak on his behalf, but confirmed that Trump is considering such an idea.
"I think it's something the President would be quite interested in calling them to do," she said.
The White House spokesperson added that Trump is likely to speak publicly about the initiative in the near future.
"It's an idea that I know that he has and something that I think you'll hear more from him on," Leavitt concluded.
Amid the war with Iran, discussions are already underway in the United States about a sharp increase in defense spending. Earlier, The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon had asked the White House to approve a request to Congress for more than $200 billion to fund the war against Iran.
At the same time, there is no unity within Donald Trump’s administration regarding the next steps. According to The Wall Street Journal, some of his advisers favor ending the conflict as quickly as possible due to rising oil prices and the risk of a prolonged war.
In addition, the Pentagon plans to reallocate around $1.5 billion from previously approved funding to purchase critically needed interceptor missiles for Patriot, THAAD, and Standard Missile systems.
