US President Donald Trump is considering asking Arab countries to cover the cost of the US-Israel war on Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday — a move that would echo how allies helped fund the 1990-1991 Gulf War.
“I think it’s something the president would be quite interested in calling them to do,” Leavitt told reporters. “It’s an idea that I know that he has.”
Trump also suggested he may be willing to end the war even without reopening the Strait of Hormuz, implying that other nations more dependent on the waterway should manage the crisis. Iran closed the strait shortly after the war began in late February.
Analysts: Gulf States Didn’t Ask for This War
Unlike in 1990-1991, when Gulf states requested US intervention after Iraq invaded Kuwait, experts say Arab countries did not advocate for war with Iran.
“They actually advocated for the war not to happen in the lead-up,” Zeidon Alkinani of the Arab Perspectives Institute told Al Jazeera. “The country that seems worthy to take and handle the costs would be Israel. The Israeli government … is the party that has convinced and pushed the United States to take this war on.”
A Long History of Making Others Pay
The US has a well-established pattern of having other nations cover its war costs.
Gulf War (1990-1991): The $61bn conflict was 88 percent funded by other nations — Saudi Arabia ($16.8bn), Kuwait ($16bn), Japan ($10bn), Germany ($6.4bn), the UAE ($4bn), and others. The US paid just 12 percent.
Post-World War II: While the US spent billions on the Marshall Plan, Japan and Germany paid tens of billions in reparations. Today, Japan spends about $1.4bn annually and Germany over $1bn yearly on US military bases in their territories.
Ukraine War: After committing $134bn in aid from 2022 to mid-2025, the Trump administration has since withdrawn nearly all US funding, pushing European allies to pay instead. In July, Trump approved $10bn in weapons sales for Ukraine — to be paid for by European allies.
What Comes Next?
So far, there has been no indication from Gulf governments about whether they are willing to help fund the war. Iran, meanwhile, has demanded that the US pay reparations to war victims as a condition for any ceasefire.
Source: Al Jazeera
