Trump says US will seek compensation from Israel and Gulf allies for Iran war

US President Donald Trump has said the United States will seek repayment from countries it “protected” during the war on Iran.

In a CBS News interview aired on Sunday, Trump told correspondent Ross Douthat that nations such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait will “pay us any and all costs we had for the war” and that “we’re going to get all that money back”. He added that without US military intervention “Israel would be gone”.

The president made the demand after the Republican Party’s poor performance in the recent mid‑term elections, which he acknowledged was partly due to public discontent over the Iran conflict. Trump has declared the war “effectively over” militarily while defending the decision to launch it.

US officials have put the cost of the war at $47.1 billion as of mid‑October, not including repairs to US bases in the Middle East. The Congressional Budget Office estimated an additional $2‑3 billion per month for any continued operations.

Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera said Trump’s statements are more political signalling than a concrete policy proposal. They expect Gulf states to view the comments with “a grain of salt” and doubt any large compensation payments will be pursued, though they note the possibility of economic pressure on Israel after the announced end of US aid later this year.

Source: Al Jazeera. Photo: Oleksiy / Pexels.