Hegseth accused of 'lying to the American public' about war in Iran during tense Congressional hearing

U.S. Secretarial assistant of state of war Pete Hegseth faced withering inquiring from skeptical Democrats wed during his number one appearance before Congress since the Trump administration went to war in Iran, over a costly conflict being waged without congressional approval.

The war has cost $25 billion US so far, according to Pentagon numbers presented to the House Armed Service Committee during the contentious hearing that was ostensibly focused on the administration's 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defence spending to a historic $1.5 trillion US.

While Republicans focused on the details of military budgeting and voiced support for the operation, Democrats quickly pivoted at the House hearing to the ballooning costs of the war, the huge drawdown of critical U.S. Munitions and the bombing of a school that killed children.

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In one tense exchange, Hegseth stunned Democratic Rep. Adam Smith by asserting 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 less than a year later.

"We had to start this war, you just said 60 days ago, because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat," said Smith, the ranking Democrat on the committee. "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."

Jules Hurst III, the acting undersecretary of war for finances, surprised Smith by giving the war cost estimate, an answer that Democrats have complained has been elusive to date. Most of that money was spent on munitions, Hurst said, with expenditures also for running Operation Epic Fury, as the U.S. Side of the war is known, and replacing equipment.

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Democrats accused Hegseth of mismanaging the war and lying to Americans about the reasons for the conflict and said rising gas prices are now threatening the pocketbooks of millions of people in the U.S.

"Secretary Hegseth, you have been lying to the American public about this war from day one and so has the president," said Rep. John Garamendi, who called the war "a geopolitical calamity," a "strategic blunder" and a "self-inflicted wound to America."

Hegseth blasted Garamendi's remarks.

"Who are you cheering for here?" he asked the lawmaker. "Your hatred for President Trump blinds you" to the success of the war.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska said that while Hegseth has the right to make personnel changes at the Pentagon, he shares what he called a "bipartisan concern" about the firings.

"We had a huge bipartisan majority here that had confidence in the Army chief of staff and the secretary of the navy," Bacon said. "And I would just point out it may be constitutionally right ... But it doesn't make it right or wise."

Hegseth has said his personnel changes are part of an effort to rebuild a "warrior culture" at the Pentagon.

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While a fragile ceasefire is now in place, the U.S. Launched the war on Feb. 28, along with Israel, without congressional oversight. House and Senate Democrats have failed to pass multiple war power resolutions that would have required President Donald Trump to halt the conflict until Congress authorizes further action.

The countries appear locked in a stalemate, with Trump unlikely to accept Tehran's latest offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's closing of the strait, a vital shipping corridor for the world's oil, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and posed problems for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.

Democrats are eyeing Friday, when a 60-day deadline under the War Powers Act passes. By law, the president needs authorization from Congress for an extension.

Republicans have said they will keep faith in Trump's wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran's nuclear program, the potential for talks to resume and the high stakes of withdrawal. Still, they are eager for the conflict to end, and some are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on.

The head of the UN nuclear agency told The Associated Press in an interview published Wednesday that the majority of Iran's highly enriched uranium is likely still at its Isfahan nuclear complex.

Rafael Grossi said in an interview conducted on Tuesday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) he leads 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 UN nuclear watchdog believes a large percentage of Iran's highly enriched uranium was stored there "when the 12-day war broke out, and it has been there ever since," Grossi said.

Images from an Airbus satellite show a truck loaded with 18 blue containers going into a tunnel at the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center on June 9, 2025, just before the start of that war. Those containers, believed to contain highly enriched uranium, likely remain there.

Grossi said the IAEA hasn't been able to "inspect or to reject that the material is there," and that it also wants to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities at Natanz and Fordo.

Iran has 440.9 kilograms of uranium that is enriched up to 60 per cent purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent, according to the agency. Grossi has said the IAEA believes roughly 200 kilograms is stored at Isfahan.

The Iranian stockpile could allow the country to build as many as 10 nuclear bombs, should it decide to weaponize its program, Grossi told the AP last year.

Hegseth on Iran’s enriched uranium: ‘We’ll take it’

Tehran long has insisted its nuclear program is peaceful.

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