Hegseth defends Iran strike cost in Senate, now estimated at nearly $38 billion

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appeared before a Senate committee in Washington to request additional funding for the Iran war, facing criticism for his slow disclosure of both the cost of the war and the US military's losses. While General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, began his testimony by remembering fallen soldiers, the defense secretary completely omitted the dead, CNN reports.

Hegseth and General Caine testified before a Senate committee on Tuesday, where the Pentagon is seeking tens of billions of dollars in additional funding for the Iran war. Four US soldiers have been killed in recent days and nearly 100 have been injured this month alone.

Conflicting attitudes toward the dead soldiers

The two top leaders began their testimony with a clear difference. In his opening remarks, General Caine offered condolences to the families of the four soldiers killed over the weekend, three of whom the Pentagon has publicly identified. The war has killed 18 U.S. service members in total.

In contrast, Defense Secretary Hegseth did not mention the dead in his opening remarks, repeating a pattern that has emerged at previous joint press conferences since the war began. Hegseth has previously criticized media coverage that focuses on U.S. service members. "If a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it's front-page news," he said at a press conference in March, accusing the press of trying to paint the president in a bad light.

Different estimates of the cost of the war

Hegseth defended U.S. military action before the Senate, noting that Operation Project Freedom has helped to safely transport 400 million to 500 million barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, despite Iranian attacks. He said the US has "had control of shipping for some time," although public records show that traffic in the strait has declined sharply. However, he acknowledged that Iran still has the capability to fire on merchant ships.

Asked about the cost of the war, Hegseth said it had been $37.5 billion so far. That figure includes expenses such as feeding troops through the end of the fiscal year.

However, experts have previously told CNN that the true cost is likely much higher. In March, analysts estimated the daily cost of the war at more than $890 million. In May, the Pentagon's comptroller put the cost at $29 billion, and last month, a preliminary analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) put the cost at about $40 billion.