Hegseth Grilled on Defense Spending as Iran War Drags On

Lawmakers with oversight of Pentagon spending pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday over the growing costs of the Iran war, as President Donald Trump suggested a fragile ceasefire with Tehran could break down.

The Pentagon’s acting comptroller, Jules Hurst, told lawmakers on Tuesday that the estimated cost of the Iran war to date was now closer to $29 billion, after giving a $25 billion price tag at a hearing on April 29. That figure was criticized — by lawmakers and outside experts — as being far too low given the huge cost of munitons, operations and deployments in the Middle East.