&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'It takes money to kill bad guys': Pentagon defends $200 billion for Iran war as Hegseth says number 'could move'")
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not deny reports that the Pentagon is seeking more than $200 billion in additional funding from Congress for the ongoing Iran war. “I think that number could move. It takes money to kill bad guys,” Hegseth said when questioned about the request. He explained that the administration is preparing to return to Congress to secure sufficient funding for both current and future operations. “So we’re going back to Congress and our folks there to, to ensure that we’re properly funded for what’s been done, for what we may have to do in the future, ensure that our ammunition is, everything’s refilled and not just refilled, but above and beyond.”
Hegseth emphasised that the proposed figure remains flexible, noting again that it “could move.” However, according to a senior administration official cited in the report, some within the White House are skeptical that a funding request exceeding $200 billion would pass Congress. The final decision on the amount will ultimately rest with the White House. Addressing concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Hegseth defended President Donald Trump’s stance, saying the administration could not allow Iran to move closer to acquiring nuclear weapons.
‘Trump won’t tolerate Iran being closer to nuclear capabilities': Hegseth
“What President Trump would not tolerate is a regime of that nature being closer and closer to nuclear capabilities, a capability they would have said they would want to use,” Hegseth said. He added, “and we ought believe what our enemies say they would do if they got the most dangerous weapon in the world.”
His remarks came amid conflicting intelligence assessments. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said a day earlier that Iran’s “nuclear enrichment program was obliterated” during previous US strikes and that there had been no meaningful attempt to restart it. Despite those claims, earlier intelligence findings suggested the program may not have been completely destroyed.
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Hegseth said the US had attempted diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons but suggested Tehran used negotiations to buy time. “I think the whole time, Iran sort of said, ‘Well, we’ll talk as we build more missiles and as we build more UAVs and we create this conventional umbrella so that, if we chose to, we could try to reconstitute the program,’ and sort of naively thinking that President Trump wouldn’t do something about it.”
US taking countermeasures to communicate with Iranians during internet blackout: Hegseth
He also addressed the ongoing internet blackout in Iran, blaming the government for restricting communications.
“As far as the internet, we’re watching the regime try to tighten its grip as much as possible,” Hegseth said, adding that the US is “obviously taking countermeasures,” though he declined to provide specifics. He stressed the importance of ensuring communication reaches the Iranian population while accusing Tehran of spreading misinformation.
“Their own people can barely receive a lot of those messages and communicate because of the blackout that they’ve imposed upon them, but we work around that, for sure,” he said. The situation is further complicated by the rise of AI-generated content, which has made it increasingly difficult to distinguish real information from fabricated material during the conflict.
Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, the US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online, and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos, and videos.
