WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The US military’s request for $200 billion in additional funding for the Iran war met with stiff opposition in the US Congress on Thursday, as Democrats and even some Republicans questioned the need for the money after large defense appropriations last year.

A US official confirmed a Washington Post report that the Department of Defense has asked the White House to approve a more than $200 billion request to Congress to fund the war in Iran.

US President Donald Trump has not yet sent a request for the Senate and House of Representatives to approve the huge sum, and his administration made clear the number could change.

“I think that number could move, obviously. It takes money to kill bad guys,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told a news conference on Thursday. “So we’re going back to Congress and folks there to ensure that we’re properly funded for what’s been done, for what we may have to do in the future.”

Early indications suggest that the war will be the most expensive for the US since the long conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Administration officials told lawmakers that the first six days of the Iran war had cost more than $11 billion.

Opinion polls show that the war is not popular, with only about one in four Americans supporting it.

The Republican-led Congress has already approved record funding for the military since........

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