Hegseth defends Pentagon's $25 billion cost of Iran war, demands $1.5 trillion in contentious hearing
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the Pentagon's $25 billion cost of the Iran war and demanded $1.5 trillion in military spending during a contentious House Armed Services Committee hearing. Hegseth clashed with Democratic lawmakers, claiming that critics of the operation posed a greater threat to the US than Iran itself.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared before the House Armed Services Committee alongside Gen Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to justify the Pentagon's $25 billion cost of the Iran war. Hegseth denied that the conflict is 'a quagmire' and asked lawmakers to approve $1.5 trillion in military spending. The estimated cost of the war, now two months in, stands at $25 billion, mostly incurred on munitions, operations, and maintenance. Hegseth invoked the US's past deployments in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan to defend the conflict, calling it 'an existential fight for the safety of the American people'. The hearing was contentious, with Democrats pressing Hegseth on surging fuel costs and economic damage from Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Hegseth clashed with lawmakers, stating that critics posed a greater threat to the US than Iran.
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