The White House is tonight pushing Congress for an emergency $10bn war chest aimed at Iran. The request, which would fund naval patrols, missile defence upgrades, and covert operations in the region, has split the Republican party and laid bare a deepening fracture in the Western alliance.
Sources close to the negotiations say the administration is demanding the funds be approved without the usual congressional oversight. “They want a blank cheque for a conflict no one voted for,” said a senior Democratic aide. “This is not defence. This is war preparation.”
The move comes as European allies have refused to join any new “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran. France, Germany, and the UK issued a joint statement this afternoon warning that “unilateral military escalation would be catastrophic”. The rupture is the most serious since the Iraq War, and diplomats say trust is at an all-time low.
On Capitol Hill, the Republican party is fracturing along familiar lines. Hawkish senators like Tom Cotton and Lindsey Graham are backing the President, calling the funds necessary to “protect American lives”. But fiscal conservatives and anti-war voices are pushing back. “We cannot keep writing cheques for endless wars,” said Senator Rand Paul. “Our constituents are struggling with the cost of bread and rent. They don’t want another Middle East quagmire.”
Meanwhile, the price of oil has already spiked 8% on the news. For working families in the North, this means higher petrol and heating bills. “Every time they rattle the sabres, it’s our pockets that pay,” said Mary O’Brien, a nurse from Manchester, speaking outside a supermarket. “I’m already choosing between food and fuel. This is madness.”
The human cost of any conflict is impossible to quantify, but economists are clear: war is a regressive tax. It hits the poorest hardest. And with inflation already squeezing household budgets, the prospect of another foreign entanglement is deeply unpopular.
Labour unions are mobilising. The TUC has called for an emergency debate, and rank-and-file members are planning protests outside US embassy buildings. “Our members remember the lies that led to Iraq,” said a union spokesperson. “We will not stand by while working people are asked to sacrifice for another war.”
The administration insists the funds are for “deterrence”, not offence. But critics note that the same language was used before the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. “Words are cheap,” said the Democratic aide. “The money is what matters.”
Tonight, the fate of the bill is uncertain. A handful of Republican defectors could block it, but the White House is leaning hard on party loyalty. For the alliance, the damage may already be done. Europe is watching closely, and many fear that this rift will not easily heal.
For the rest of us, the question is simpler: will the price of bread go up again? The answer, almost certainly, is yes.
