(July 22): The US war against Iran has cost the US about US$37.5 billion (RM153.45 billion), Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, giving the most up-to-date official estimate for a conflict that shows no signs of ending soon.

Hegseth gave the estimate in an appearance before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that was focused on President Donald Trump’s request for an additional US$67 billion in defense funding. Pentagon officials had said in mid-May that the war had cost around US$29 billion — a figure that didn’t account for damage to US bases.

At the hearing, Hegseth faced criticism from Democrats over the growing costs of an unpopular conflict that has raised energy prices as it has intensified in recent weeks after a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran unraveled. 

“I would hope for some perspective in this town of the historic nature of what President Trump is undertaking,” Hegseth told the committee. “Do you want radical Islamists to have a nuclear bomb?”

Hegseth said the US$37.5 billion estimate covered military operations through today “for certain aspects,” and some anticipated costs such as pay through Sept. 30. It was unclear whether the figure accounted for damage to bases.

In written remarks submitted to lawmakers, Hegseth revealed that the funding request includes US$21 billion to speed up the acquisition of high-end missiles and other munitions that US forces used in large numbers during the war.

He also said the Pentagon wanted US$2 billion to replace “equipment lost or damaged during combat operations,” as well as US$11.6 billion to invest in drones, satellites and other technologies.

Trump has played down the prospect of more diplomatic talks with Iran, with Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen now threatening shipping in the Red Sea — an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz that’s been largely shut by Tehran’s retaliation since the war began on Feb 28.

Hegseth, who declared victory in the war against Iran in April when the ceasefire was announced, faced tough questions about why the war was expanding rather than winding down.

“This war is now spiraling out of control again, the president is threatening escalation and war crimes and suggesting this could be another forever war,” the committee’s top Democrat, Senator Patty Murray of Washington, said. “He has told us over 40 times now that a deal is near, and the war will be over soon. But now he is asking for US$70 billion more, and for us to just trust him it’ll work out fine.”

Democrats have repeatedly suggested the big funding requests signaled the administration was planning for a longer conflict. 

Hegseth rejected their negative characterisations of the US strategy, saying the large defense budget requests were a “generational” investment required to modernise the Defense Department’s weapons and capabilities. 

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine, who testified alongside Hegseth, faced questions about the US strategy of relying mostly on long-range munitions and whether the US could defeat Iran through air power alone.

“Academically, as you look across the totality of history, air power’s got limits, and we always have to be mindful of those,” Caine replied.

Uploaded by Isabelle Francis