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 defence ‌appropriations last year, reported Reuters.

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

US and Israeli forces launched the campaign against Iran on February 28. As the war neared the end of its third week, lawmakers, both Democrats and some Republicans, have clamored for more information about Trump's plans for a conflict that has killed thousands of people, disrupted the lives of millions of others and roiled world energy and stock markets.

"We just ​heard that the Pentagon is putting ​forward a request for $200 billion more ⁠for this war. How on Earth are we going to pay for that? It is absolutely ridiculous," Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington said in a speech in the House of Representatives.

After receiving briefings from administration ​officials, lawmakers estimated the war is costing $1 billion to $2 billion per day.

Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of ​Maryland said the ⁠request should be a non-starter with members of Congress. "The best way to end this war, protect our troops, save civilian lives, and rein in a lawless Administration is to cut off funding. I'm a hell no," he wrote on X.

Some of Trump's fellow Republicans also seemed surprised at the amount being ⁠considered. Republican ​Senator Susan Collins, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday ​night she had not yet been notified about a $200 billion supplemental request.

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 Trump began his second term in January 2025. Last month, he signed into law the Fiscal 2026 ​Defense Appropriations Act with about $840 billion in funding.

And last summer, over stiff opposition from Democrats, the Republican-led Congress passed a sweeping tax cut and ​spending bill that included $156 billion for defence, reported Reuters.

Democrats questioned why the Pentagon needed more money, given recent cuts to social services, foreign aid and other programs, and ‌said that ⁠no one who opposes the war should vote to fund it.

When asked, President Donald Trump said it was needed to replenish ammunition and other supplies depleted by the conflict and previous aid to other countries, reported BBC.

"This is a very volatile world," Trump said on Thursday. "We want to have vast amounts of ammunition, which we have right now - we have a lot of ammunition, but it was taken down by giving so much to Ukraine," he stated.

Asked about the extra billions needed for the war, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters: "It takes money to kill bad guys."

The Pentagon has told lawmakers the war cost the country $11.3 billion in the first week alone. The conflict will enter its fourth week on Saturday.

The funding request came as a US F-35 fighter jet had to make an emergency landing at a US air base on Thursday "after flying a combat mission over Iran", a spokesperson for the US Central Command said.

The jet landed safely and the pilot is in stable condition, the spokesperson said. The F-35 was struck by suspected Iranian fire, US media reported, citing unnamed sources.

The Pentagon estimates each such jet costs up to $77 million, said the Reuters report.

"This incident is under investigation," the Central Command spokesperson said.

At a news conference on Thursday, Hegseth said the defence department needs more money for "what we may have to do in the future".

The $200 billion request is in addition to the department's annual budget of $838.7 billion, which was approved by Congress in January.

Congress has separately approved $188 billion in funding for aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022. About $110 billion had been spent as of last December, according to the special inspector general tracking the funding.