WASHINGTON, March 19. /TASS/. The US Department of War is seeking over $200 billion to continue the military operation in Iran, planning to use some of these funds to replenish its munitions stockpiles, The Washington Post (WP) wrote citing sources.

The article says "the Pentagon has asked the White House to approve a more than $200 billion request to Congress to fund the war in Iran." According to the report, some of these funds are to be allocated "to urgently increase production of critical weaponry expended as US and Israeli forces have struck thousands of targets over the past three weeks."

"It remains unclear how much the White House will ultimately ask congressional lawmakers to approve," the report says.

Some US administration officials believe that receiving $200 billion for these needs would be unrealistic.

"The funding request is likely to stage a major political battle in Congress," the WP wrote.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.