Lawmakers Press Hegseth Over War Costs With Iran Truce Fragile

May 12, 2026, 4:58 PM UTC

Lawmakers with oversight of Pentagon spending pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth 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. That followed his $25 billion price tag at an April 29 hearing that lawmakers and outside experts cast as far too low given the huge cost of munitions, operations and deployments in the Middle East.

“There has been a consistent lack of ...

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