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Iran War Cost Rises to $47.1 Billion, Pentagon Told Lawmakers
Confirmed
In Short: Hegseth urged lawmakers to approve another $87 billion in congressional funding for the Pentagon, with $67 billion allocated for operations in the Middle East.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee that the war with Iran has cost the US $47.1 billion, an increase of nearly $8 billion since the last estimate in May.
The White House previously requested $1.5 trillion for the Pentagon over the next fiscal year, aiming to raise American military spending to an all-time high in the modern era.
On Tuesday, the Pentagon announced the death of Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, a 30-year-old US soldier, in Iraq.
Hegseth argued that the requested funding would be a 'generational investment' to ensure the US avoids 'playing catch-up' with other nations' militaries.
Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin called Hegseth a 'failure' and accused the Trump administration of creating another 'forever war'. Hegseth responded by saying Austin had 'Trump derangement syndrome'.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump announced that the execution of convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan would no longer be livestreamed to the public, following mounting pushback from lawmakers.
Hegseth had previously stated that the public broadcast was planned to demonstrate 'serious consequences' for such actions.
Republican lawmakers and religious leaders joined in opposing the Pentagon's plan to livestream the execution, while Trump said he had not yet decided on the matter.
Vice-President JD Vance expressed skepticism over whether the Pentagon would proceed with the livestream.
Several Republicans have broken with Trump over the Pentagon's plan, and a Pentagon official confirmed that it would be livestreamed.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle condemned the plan, with some calling it a 'public execution' and a breach of human rights.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned that livestreaming an execution 'is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture'.
What this adds
The Pentagon's request for additional funding and the controversy over the execution plan highlight the ongoing challenges and costs of military operations in the Middle East.
What's confirmed
- Hegseth said at the time that the public broadcast was planned “because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated that Hegseth recommended the firing squad format, which Trump approved.
- Republican U.S. lawmakers joined religious leaders and international observers on Friday in opposing a Pentagon plan to livestream an execution by firing squad, while U.S. President Donald Trump said he has not yet decided whether to allow the live feed.
- Thomas Massie on Tuesday introduced articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, launching an unusual effort by a member of President Donald Trump’s own party to remove a Pentagon chief.
What's still developing
- Every dollar appropriated, he added, would be used to build the "lethality" of US military forces and "reinforce peace through strength".
- The Pentagon has not withdrawn its announcement, and the administration has not explained how it would handle restrictions on who may witness the execution.
- Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in the US Congress were quick to react in the hours after the Pentagon chief told a conservative news outlet on Thursday that former US Army Major Nidal Hasan’s death by firing squad would be made public.
- One of the survivors of the Fort Hood mass shooting in Texas nearly 17 years ago finds the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the firing squad execution of the perpetrator questionable.
- They said the current estimate did not include costs like construction for damaged American bases.
- The defence secretary began Tuesday's testimony by saying, "we live in a dangerous world" and that it required bold and swift action.