Pete Hegseth denies Iran war is a ‘quagmire’ as estimated US cost so far hits $25bn

As his defense secretary testified before House committee, Trump posted AI-generated image of himself with a weapon and a caption saying ‘NO MORE MR. NICE GUY’

Pete Hegseth has denied that the US-Israel war on Iran is “a quagmire” and claimed critics of the operation posed a greater threat to the US than Iran itself, as he came under pressure to set out Washington’s strategy for the conflict.

Appearing before the House armed services committee alongside Gen Dan Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, the US defense secretary asked lawmakers to approve a $1.5tn budget in military spending – and then described some of them as “the biggest challenge” to the war effort.