Middle East Crisis Iran War

Israel's War Fund Running Out – Could Run Out in 39 Days

The war in Iran is costing Israel around a billion shekels, equivalent to just under 3 billion kronor, every day, reports Haaretz. If spending continues at the same rate, Israel's war fund will run out within 39 days.

Although more may be budgeted, the figure could, according to the newspaper, give an indication of how long Benjamin Netanyahu believes the war will last.

At the same time, Donald Trump is the one who has the final say on when the war is over. According to information to the New York Times, the Pentagon has asked for an additional 200 billion dollars, equivalent to over 2,000 billion kronor, to continue the Iran war.

Information: Pentagon asks for nearly 1,900 billion to finance the Iran war

The US Department of Defense is asking the White House for nearly 1,900 billion kronor to finance the war in Iran, according to information to the Washington Post. This is said to be a significantly higher sum than the costs that the war has incurred so far, the newspaper writes.

The money will, among other things, go to increase weapons production. During the first weeks of the war, the US, together with Israel, has used up a lot of material by attacking thousands of targets in Iran, according to several sources.

The Pentagon's request for so much money is likely to lead to disputes in Congress, which must approve the request. There are already major divisions there on the issue of Iran. Some sources believe that it is unlikely that Congress will approve the funding.

The costs of the Iran war are increasing rapidly and after the first week it had already cost the US at least 100 billion kronor, according to the Washington Post.

Middle East Crisis  Voices on
Analysis: Killing Iran's Leader Could Backfire on US and Israel

The fact that Israel and the US have killed several of Iran's high-ranking leaders does not necessarily mean that the Iranian regime is weakening. This is what CNN's Stephen Collinson writes.

With its attacks, Israel certainly shows that the country's enemies cannot hide, but at the same time it is unclear what long-term consequences they may have.

"It may shorten the war, but it may also lead to more revenge and closed diplomatic paths out of the conflict - which risks prolonging the war," he writes.

Peter Beaumont at The Guardian is on the same track. He points out that previous Israeli attacks on Hamas and Hezbollah's leadership did not lead to the complete elimination of the terrorist movements.

Beaumont refers to expert Jon B Alterman at the think tank CSIS who does not believe that killing the regime's top brass will lead to any drastic change in Iran. He believes that the regime's resilience is underestimated by the US and Israel.

Amir Azimi writes in the BBC that the attacks will strengthen Iran's militant stance in the short term and increase the regime's resilience.

"In the long term, however, a system that continues to lose high-ranking people may find it increasingly difficult to function effectively."