Hegseth faces questions on overall Iran war strategy

The cost of the conflict in Iran is about $25 billion at this point, according to an estimate from the acting comptroller Jules Hurst, who revealed the number in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee Wednesday. 

Hurst is appearing alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine regarding the Defense Department’s $1.5 trillion budget request. This is the first time Hegseth has publicly testified on the Hill since last June, months before the war in Iran began. 

The questions have focused on the Pentagon’s efforts to ramp up production of critical munitions and ships to deter a threat like China, and some Democrats have so far questioned the Trump administration’s overall Iran strategy regarding Iran, now that talks seem stalled. 

Democrat Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking member of the committee, said President Trump’s remarks earlier this month that Iran had agreed to give up everything, including its nuclear program and its hold on the Strait of Hormuz, have not been borne out. 

“So wish fulfillment is not really a strategy,” Smith said. “What we need to hear today is what is going to work.” 

Hegseth in his opening remarks said he expected questions on Iran and criticized Congress,  telling the committee that “the biggest adversary we face, at this point, are the reckless, feckless, and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans, two months in.” 

He said his generation remembers how long the conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan lasted, and this is just two months into “an existential fight for the safety of the American people.” At the outset of the war, President Trump said it would only last about four to six weeks. 

The chairman of the committee, GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, in his opening remarks noted that “global munition stockpiles are low, and we lack the capacity to rapidly restock magazine depth.” 

Hegseth outlined efforts to encourage industry to ramp up production of critical munitions, saying the Defense Department had identified 14 critical munitions, including Patriot and THAAD interceptors as well as these missile systems: SM-3s, SM-6s, AMRAAMS, JASSMS and PrSMS.