Karoline Leavitt says Trump 'interested' in having Arab countries pay for Iran war

WASHINGTON, DC: The White House spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, on Monday, March 30, revealed how Donald Trump plans to handle the escalating cost of war with Iran. The press secretary also said that Trump wanted to end the war with Iran within a few weeks, with both countries signing a deal.

Talking about the monumental cost of war with Iran, which is increasing every day, Leavitt said that Trump plans to pass the conflict cost off to the regional Arab states.

Is Trump planning to pass war cost to Arab nations?

The cost of war with Iran is estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars, and Trump has an idea to ask Arab nations to pay for it.

Leavitt was asked whether Arab countries should pay for the enormous financial cost of the war with Iran, as US allies helped Washington fund its intervention during the Gulf War in 1990.

“I think it’s something the president would be quite interested in calling them to do,” Leavitt told reporters.

“I won’t get ahead of him on that, but certainly it’s an idea that I know that he has, and something that I think you’ll hear more from him on,” she said.

US-led coalition funded intervention in Gulf War

In the 1990s, when Iraq made an invasion attempt against Kuwait, the US led a coalition of dozens of countries in the Gulf War to push back against Iraq’s invasion attempts. The US had reportedly intervened at the request of Kuwait and several neighboring nations.

In exchange for its intervention, the US was paid by its European coalitions and Arab nations. Allied countries like Japan, Germany and Arab states had raised $54bn (the equivalent of $134bn today) to pay for the US’s involvement in the Gulf War.  

Earlier this month, a right-wing commentator, Sean Hannity, who is close to Trump, argued that once a ceasefire deal is reached, Iran should be made to pay for the entire cost of the war.

“They must agree to repay America in oil for the entire cost of this entire military operation,” Hannity said.

Thousands have been killed in the war with Iran, which began on February 28 after the US and Israel launched a joint military attack on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other key leaders. People have mainly been in Iran, with numbers around 2,000.

Notably, this time, the US and Israel entered into a war with Iran unilaterally, with no involvement of European allies or Arab states.

Trump estimated war to last four to six weeks

While hoping a ceasefire deal is likely to be reached in the coming days, Leavitt said Trump wants the Iran war to end within the next two weeks.

Trump "has always stated four to six weeks, estimated timeline," Leavitt told reporters. "We're on day 30 today. So again, you do the math."

"He wants to see a deal over the next 10 days," she said.