Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said congressional Democrats are “the biggest adversary we face” as he parried questioning from lawmakers Wednesday for the first time since U.S. President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran. And the Pentagon’s chief financial officer released a detail Democrats have been demanding, saying the war has cost an estimated $25 billion and counting.
Hegseth told the House Armed Services Committee that boosting next
year’s Pentagon budget to an unprecedented $1.5 trillion will “maintain the world’s most powerful and capable military.”
Meanwhile talks on ending the war have stalled. Trump posted an image on social media showing himself carrying a weapon in a war zone, saying “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!”
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Hegseth told Democratic Rep. Adam Smith that Iran’s nuclear facilities were obliterated in a 2025 attack by the U.S., prompting Smith to question the Trump administration’s reasoning for starting the Iran war.
“We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat,” Smith said. “Now you’re saying that it was completely obliterated?”
Hegseth responded by saying that Iran “had not given up their nuclear ambitions” and still had thousands of missiles.
Smith said the war “left us at exactly the same place we were before.”
The committee is taking a brief recess to vote, which is expected to take about 20-25 minutes.
During a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Jules Hurst III, the acting undersecretary of war for finances, said most of the expense has been on munitions, but the military has also spent money on running the operations and equipment replacement.
“We will formulate a supplemental through the White House that will come to Congress once we have a full assessment of the cost of the conflict,” Hurst added.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told the committee in his opening statement that he wants to emulate Gen. George C. Marshall, who served during World War II and later helped Europe recover from the conflict.
“His commitment to civilian control and military and nonpartisan military remains a constant standard in something I borrow from often,” Caine said. “I strive daily to emulate his candor, delivering the facts to our leaders and telling them always what they need to hear, not always what they want to hear.”
“The biggest challenge, the biggest adversary, we face at this point are the reckless, feckless and defeatist words of congressional Democrats and some Republicans,” the U.S. defense secretary told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee.
Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat, told Hegseth that he finds it “absurd” to claim that the Pentagon’s strategy is built on realism when the war in Iran seems like “the exact opposite of realism.”
Smith also said Hegseth needs to explain what the Trump administration’s goals were for the conflict.
“We’ve seen the cost, and the cost is very, very high,” he said.
Hegseth argued that the historically high Pentagon budget request will maintain “the world’s most powerful and capable military as we grapple with a complex threat environment across multiple theaters.”
Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that he finds it “absurd” to claim that the Pentagon’s strategy is built on realism.
“We started a full scale war in the Middle East against Iran to try to reshape the Middle East,” Smith said, adding that was the exact opposite of realism.
Smith said Hegseth needs to provide an explanation of what the Trump administration’s goals are in the Middle East.
“Where is this going? What is the plan to achieve our objectives? We’ve seen the cost, and the cost is very, very high,” he said.
Mike Rogers, the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, praised Trump’s $1.5 trillion plan to fund the military in 2027, stating that it “accounts for the true cost of American deterrence.”
“This will enable us to truly catch up in our modernization efforts by quickly fielding new munitions, aircraft, ships, land, space and autonomous systems to replenish and expand our arsenal,” Rogers said.
A House hearing with the defense secretary has started with a packed hearing room and many other people crowded into the hallway outside.
“Let the public in,” several people chanted outside as lawmakers found their seats. They also yelled at Hegseth as he passed them in the hallway.
The hearing is officially to discuss the Pentagon’s proposed budget, but it will also be the first time that Hegseth publicly answers questions on the Iran war on Capitol Hill. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, is seated beside the defense secretary.
Grossi said the IAEA participated in U.S.-Iran nuclear talks in February, but not the ceasefire negotiations mediated by Pakistan. He said the agency has been in discussions separately with the U.S. and informally with Iran.
The latest proposal from Iran would postpone discussions on its nuclear program but end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. lifts its blockade and ends the war.
Grossi described that as an indication Iran wants to sequence how it confronts the objectives mandated by the U.S., including curbing its ballistic missile program and dealing with its proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
“Where the frustration kicks in, apparently for both, is that they do not seem to come to agreement, or be at an eye-to-eye level on what needs to be done first, or on how,” he said.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog believes a large percentage of Iran’s highly enriched uranium was stored at Isfahan when Israel and the U.S. bombarded Iran in June 2025, “and it has been there ever since,” Grossi said.
Grossi said the IAEA has discussed with Russia and others the possibility of sending Iran’s highly enriched uranium out of the country — a complex operation that would require either a political agreement or a major U.S. military operation in hostile territory.
“What’s going to be important is that that material leaves Iran” or is blended to reduce its enrichment, he said.
The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still at its Isfahan nuclear complex, which was bombarded by U.S. airstrikes last year and faced less intense attacks in this year’s U.S.-Israeli war, the head of the U.N. nuclear agency told The Associated Press.
Rafael Grossi said in an interview on Tuesday that the International Atomic Energy Agency has satellite images showing the effects of the latest U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran and that “we continue to get information.”
Iran has 440.9 kilograms (972 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%, according to the agency. Grossi has said the IAEA believes roughly 200 kilograms (about 440 pounds) is stored in tunnels at the Isfahan site. The stockpile could be weaponized into as many as 10 nuclear bombs, Grossi told the AP last year.
Speaking to journalists Wednesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russia had no plans to leave OPEC+ and praised the organization’s work in stabilizing energy markets.
“This is a very important area of work and it is especially crucial at the current moment, when energy markets are, to put it mildly, in turmoil,” he said.
However, he stressed that Moscow respected the UAE’s decision. “We welcome statements from Abu Dhabi that the Emirates will continue to take a responsible position in the energy market,” Peskov said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said his relationship with President Donald Trump remains “as good as ever,” but that he had “had doubts from the very beginning about what was started there with the war in Iran.”
“We are suffering considerably in Germany and in Europe from the consequences of, for example, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz,” Merz said on Wednesday. This hurts energy supplies and the economy. “And in that regard, I urge that this conflict be resolved.”
Trump had earlier attacked Merz on his Truth Social platform: “The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about!” Trump wrote.
Trump was responding to Merz’s comments on Monday, when the German Chancellor said the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized Washington’s lack of strategy in the war.
U.S. President Donald Trump criticized Iran’s handling of nuclear negotiations, saying it has failed to move toward a deal.
“Iran can’t get their act together. They don’t know how to sign a nonnuclear deal. They better get smart soon!” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump’s post featured an AI-generated image of himself holding a weapon amid explosions with the caption “NO MORE MR. NICE GUY.”
Tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program rose before the war broke out, with Trump repeatedly vowing to ensure the country can’t build a nuclear weapon. Iran long has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful, though it enriched uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels.
The U.N.’s human rights chief said Iran has executed at least 21 people since the start of the war with the United States and Israel on Feb. 28.
Volker Türk says at least nine people were executed in connection with huge protests across Iran in January, while another 10 were executed for alleged membership in opposition groups, and two others on espionage charges.
More than 4,000 people have been arrested on national security-related charges in Iran since the end of February, his office says.
A Lebanese army soldier was killed Wednesday along with his brother in an Israeli strike that targeted the motorcycle on which they were traveling from the soldier’s work post to his home in the village of al-Souaneh, the army said in a statement.
The Lebanese army has stood on the sidelines during the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, which began on March 2 when the militant group launched a salvo of missiles into Israel, two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks on Iran. But soldiers have frequently gotten caught in the crossfire.
A total of 20 Lebanese army soldiers have been killed by Israeli strikes since March 2, most of them while en route to or from their duty stations, the army said. Altogether, more than 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon during the war and during a shaky ceasefire implemented earlier this month that has reduced but not halted the fighting.
The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely still at its Isfahan nuclear complex, which was bombarded by airstrikes last year and faced less intense attacks in this year’s U.S.-Israeli war, the head of the U.N. nuclear agency told The Associated Press.
Rafael Grossi said in an interview on Tuesday that the International Atomic Energy Agency has satellite images showing the effects of the latest U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran and that “we continue to get information.”
IAEA inspections ended at Isfahan when Israel last June launched a 12-day war that saw the United States bomb three Iranian nuclear sites.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog believes a large percentage of Iran’s highly enriched uranium “was stored there in June 2025 when the 12-day war broke out, and it has been there ever since,” Grossi said.
Pakistan’s weekly oil import bill has surged by about 167% due to soaring global prices, adding strain to the cash-strapped nation’s fragile economy, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday.
In televised remarks during a Cabinet meeting, Sharif said the weekly oil import bill had risen from $300 million before the conflict to $800 million.
He said the government is taking steps to conserve energy and reduce oil consumption, and that diplomatic efforts to promote peace are still ongoing.
Iran’s national rial currency hit a record hit Wednesday of 1.8 million to $1 as a shaky ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel still holds.
The rial had remained stable for weeks during the war, which began Feb. 28, in part because there was little trading or imports coming into the country.
The rial began to slide two days ago, hitting the record low Wednesday.
Experts warn the fall of the rial is likely to further fuel inflation in a country where many imported goods, from food and medicine to electronics and raw materials, are affected by the dollar rate.
The war is now in a ceasefire, but a U.S. blockade has continued to increase pressure on Iran’s already-battered economy, cutting into a key source of government revenue and hard currency by stopping or intercepting oil shipments.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday his government is continuing efforts to help ease tensions between the United States and Iran.
Speaking during a Cabinet meeting in Islamabad, he said a “marathon session” was held in the capital during an initial round of direct talks between the two sides on April 11, leading to progress on a ceasefire that remains in place.
He said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Pakistan over the weekend during the ceasefire, where another extended round of talks took place between Iran and Pakistan. Araghchi later traveled to Oman, returned briefly, and then departed for Russia, Sharif said.
Sharif said before leaving for Moscow, Araghchi spoke to him by phone and “assured me that after consulting with his leadership, he would respond as soon as possible.” He did not specify what Araghchi would respond to, but Pakistan has said it is seeking to host a second round of talks between the United States and Iran.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will face questioning from members of Congress for the first time since the Iran war began.
The hearing Wednesday before the House Armed Services Committee will focus on the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion military budget for 2027.
Democratic lawmakers are likely to grill Hegseth on the Iran war’s costs and huge drawdown of critical munitions. While a ceasefire is now in place, the U.S. and Israel launched the war Feb. 28 without congressional oversight.
