Trump warns US will strike Iran nuclear sites as drones shot down near US consulate

War Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed Tuesday that the war in Iran has cost an estimated $37.5 billion so far.

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hegseth told lawmakers the figure includes both current operational costs and projected expenses through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

“Some of that number captures additional O&M, military pay and other costs that would be anticipated through the fiscal year,” Hegseth told Sen. Dick Durbin.

“So some of that anticipates what costs would be going out in the future as well.”

Durbin pressed Hegseth to clarify the figure.

“So the new number you’ve given me is what?” the Illinois Democrat asked.

“$37.5 billion,” Hegseth replied.

Durbin followed up by asking what period the estimate covers.

“Through what period of time?”

“Through now for certain aspects of it, but also military pay, O&M and other anticipated costs through Sept. 30, Senator,” Hegseth replied.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that President Donald Trump deserves “praise” for ordering military strikes against Iran, arguing the administration fully understood the risks before launching the operation.

Testifying before lawmakers, Hegseth said the administration had carefully considered multiple battlefield scenarios.

“This battlefield and all the dynamics of it, of which the chairman and I are responsible for ensuring the president understands every branch and sequel of what could happen,” Hegseth told lawmakers Tuesday.

Hegseth said the possibility of escalation had been anticipated.

“So the fact that those contingencies all were part of the possibility, and we understood that, is all the more reason why Trump deserves the kind of praise he should get for undertaking this effort.”

He praised the president for remaining committed to preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

“Having the courage to ensure that crazy Islamists can’t have a nuclear weapon to hold us at issue, and he’s been willing to stay committed to that regardless of the challenges,” Hegseth added.

The hearing came days after three U.S. service members were killed in the region and after Trump ordered a fresh round of U.S. strikes against Iranian military targets.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Tuesday that Iran has been left in its weakest military position in decades following U.S. strikes, arguing that the damage inflicted on Tehran’s forces underscores the need for Congress to approve additional funding for military operations.

“Iran is at the weakest point militarily it has ever been at in the past decade, certainly maybe in 47 years, as they’ve gathered effectively a terror arm,” Hegseth said.

“And that terror army was built to try to create conventional capabilities to defend against a pursuit of nuclear weapons, which meant thousands of ballistic missiles, many of which we have destroyed. Others of which they have put inside facilities and hidden in underground facilities,” he said.

Hegseth acknowledged Iran retains military capabilities despite the U.S. campaign.

“They still have capabilities, no doubt,” he said, but argued that the cumulative effect of recent U.S. operations has severely weakened Tehran’s military.

“The amount of damage that we’ve done to them over the course of this series of operations has put them in the worst place they’ve ever been,” Hegseth said.

Gen. Dan Caine told lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday that advances in artificial intelligence and increasingly coordinated adversaries are reshaping modern warfare, arguing that the U.S. must move quickly to maintain its military edge.

“I’ve come to you today to request the necessary funds while we are in the window of opportunity, while time is still on our side,” he said.

“The United States of America faces a global list of military challenges in the Middle East, in Europe, and in the Pacific, including nuclear and non-nuclear challenges and the continued threat of terrorism.”

“Our adversaries are aligning in their interests, creating simultaneous challenges across multiple domains. They are sharing intelligence, combat capabilities and technology that are accelerating the speed of war, aren’t they?” he added.

“It is imperative that Americans understand that the character of war is changing,” he added.

He warned that today’s battlefield extends “from the seabed to cyberspace” simultaneously and said, “We must be prepared to fight across all of them.”

The United Kingdom’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, has approved the use of British military bases by the United States for “defensive strikes against Iran,” Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing a source.

The outlet reported that former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer chaired a COBRA meeting on July 17 to discuss U.K. policy following the resumption of U.S. military operations and concerns over an escalating conflict.

Ministers decided to maintain the existing policy allowing U.S. aircraft to use bases at Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford to counter Iranian missile threats and strike sites used to target shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the source said.

Burnham, who became prime minister on July 20, was briefed on the decision and agreed to continue the previous government’s policy, according to Bloomberg’s sources.

President Donald Trump also held his first phone call with Burnham on July 20 and said the two leaders had a “very good conversation” about the “outstanding relationship” between the U.S. and the U.K. 

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said sirens had been sounded across the country late Tuesday and urged people to stay calm and head to a safe place.

The warning came amid Iranian missile and drone attacks in the region.

“The siren has been sounded. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” the ministry said in a post on X.

Bahrain had already sounded sirens twice earlier Tuesday.

Iran’s army said it had targeted the U.S.-operated Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain with drones, Reuters reported, citing a statement.

Kuwait also said its air defenses had intercepted Iranian missiles and drones.

Three explosive-laden drones were shot down Tuesday near the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, according to security sources cited by Reuters.

Iraq’s state news agency also reported that Erbil International Airport had temporarily suspended flights following the incident.

The reported drone interceptions came just after the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad issued a global security alert warning that escalating tensions in the Middle East could lead to further attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities.

“Due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, the security situation remains complex, with the potential for unexpected escalation,” the embassy said in a statement posted on X.

“U.S. citizens currently in the Middle East should exercise caution and heighten their vigilance, preparing for the possibility of flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures, and disruptions to travel.”

“U.S. diplomatic facilities, including those outside the Middle East, have been targeted,” it added.

U.S. Central Command released footage Tuesday showing the USS Mason guided-missile destroyer being replenished at sea in regional waters.

The American warship has operated in support of the U.S. military’s blockade of Iranian ports, which was reimposed last week. 

Video released by CENTCOM showed a helicopter delivering supplies to the ship. 

“As of July 20, the U.S. military has redirected 7 commercial vessels and disabled 1 to prevent the ships from leaving or entering Iranian ports,” CENTCOM said about the resumed blockade.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. will “just have to take care of business” if the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen impose a blockade on the Red Sea. 

“We’ll see what happens. So far, it hasn’t happened. Might happen, but we take care of things. If something like that happens, we take care of it,” Trump said. 

Iran has reportedly instructed Yemen’s Houthi terrorists to prepare to close a critical Red Sea gateway if the United States attacks Iranian power infrastructure, Reuters reported last week, a threat experts warn could sharply disrupt global shipping even if the group cannot completely seal the waterway. 

Three sources told Reuters on Thursday that Iran’s leadership had discussed using the Houthis to shut the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and recently conveyed the request to the group.

A source close to the Houthis said missiles and drones had been deployed near the waterway and that the group was awaiting an order to begin attacking shipping. 

“I think that if there is something like that, we’ll just have to take care of business,” Trump said Tuesday. 

Fox News’ Efrat Lachter contributed to this post. 

Israel’s military said Tuesday that it fired “warning shots” after Lebanese forces breached barriers inside the Security Zone in southern Lebanon. 

“Earlier today, IDF soldiers operating in the Security Zone in southern Lebanon identified Lebanese Armed Forces personnel, accompanied by an engineering vehicle, who crossed ~150 meters into the Security Zone and breached barriers in the area of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, contrary to the understandings between the parties,” the IDF said in a statement. 

“IDF soldiers operating in the area fired warning shots into the air only, which did not endanger the Lebanese Armed Forces personnel, in order to distance them from the area. The Lebanese Armed Forces personnel withdrew from the area, and no injuries were reported,” it added. 

The State Department on Monday had announced the launch of the first “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon under a U.S.-brokered security agreement, calling the initiative a key step toward restoring Lebanese government control in areas dominated by the terrorist group Hezbollah. 

The pilot zones are part of an agreement signed at the State Department in late June between Israel and Lebanon that calls for Israeli forces to withdraw from designated areas while the Lebanese Armed Forces assume security responsibilities. 

The IDF said Tuesday that, “The area into which the Lebanese Armed Forces entered is not part of the ‘pilot’ area.” 

“The IDF calls on the Lebanese Armed Forces to continue operating in accordance with the understandings and within the agreed areas. Any deviation from these areas without prior coordination could endanger its forces,” it also said. 

Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this post. 

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. will be striking Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain “probably pretty soon.”

Pickaxe Mountain is a heavily fortified underground complex near Iran’s damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have not been allowed to visit the secret site.

After Trump was asked if he believes Iran has moved nuclear centrifuges to Pickaxe Mountain, the president said “they may have,” but that “we follow the material, that’s where the action is.”

“We’ll be hitting that area very, probably pretty soon. And there’s not a thing they can do about it. You know, normally I wouldn’t say that. If I thought they could do something about it, I would never say that. But we’ll be hitting that area pretty soon and very heavily,” Trump added.

Fox News’ CJ Womack and Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this post.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Lebanon has a “Hezbollah problem,” but that he would speak to Hezbollah if Lebanese President Joseph Aoun wanted him to.

Trump made the comment while welcoming Aoun to the White House.

“I would speak to Hezbollah. Yeah, I speak to everybody. I’ll speak to people that a lot of people think I shouldn’t be speaking to, and things work out,” Trump said about the Iran-backed terrorist group.

“I would say this — if the president wanted me to speak to Hezbollah. You know, he’s lived with Hezbollah for a long time. And if the president wanted me to speak to Hezbollah, I would,” Trump added.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. military’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports is like a “steel wall” and that “nobody gets through.” 

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth added that “Iran  has been given every opportunity to negotiate, to show that they’re reasonable on the Strait of Hormuz.” 

“But if they’re going to shoot a commercial shipping, then we’re going to hit them, as the president said, ten times harder, which every night we’re degrading them further and further,” Hegheth said after U.S. Central Command completed ten consecutive days of strikes against Iranian military targets. 

“And the president has all the options necessary. If they want to talk, they can talk. Otherwise they can deal with the War Department. And we’re prepared,” Hegseth added. 

President Donald Trump said Tuesday at the White House that Iran wants to “desperately meet.” 

The revelation comes after U.S. Central Command carried out waves of airstrikes against Iranian military targets in recent days. 

“They can not have a nuclear weapon and they won’t have — they have no chance of having a nuclear weapon… But we are doing very well. We are degrading them at levels that nobody thought was possible,” Trump continued. 

“They’re being degraded, really so seriously. They did slip something through in Jordan,” Trump said, refencing the deaths of two American service members. 

“And if we had other operators, you know, would not happened unfortunately. Because we have the best equipment in the world, you know, we’ve stopped almost everything. But when you let other people do your job with the United States, we let other people do the job. And sometimes it doesn’t work out so well. But, we’re going to be going and paying our respects at Dover.” 

The militaries of Bahrain and Kuwait said Tuesday they are defending their countries against fresh attacks by Iran. 

The Bahrain Defence Force said it “confronted, intercepted, and destroyed a number of treacherous Iranian aerial attacks” on Tuesday, and that “Iran continues its systematic hostile approach through its sinful attacks targeting civilians in the Kingdom of Bahrain.” 

Kuwait’s Army said in a statement on X that “Kuwaiti air defenses are currently confronting hostile missile and drone attacks, following the sinful Iranian aggression.” 

“The General Staff of the Army notes that if explosion sounds are heard, they are the result of the air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks,” it added. 

The State Department warned Americans worldwide to “exercise increased caution” as Iran may target U.S. interests overseas. 

“Due to heightened tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” the State Department said in a message on Monday. 

“U.S. diplomatic facilities, including outside the Middle East, have been targeted. Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world,” it added. 

The State Department also said Americans that are currently in the Middle East “should exercise caution and heightened vigilance and should be prepared for possible flight cancellations, periodic airspace closures, and potential travel disruptions,” and those who are not “should reconsider travel to and through the region.” 

The Army on Tuesday identified Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, a 30-year-old air defense soldier from Fayetteville, North Carolina, as the U.S. service member killed while troops attempted to destroy a downed Iranian attack drone at an air base in Iraq.

Swinton was killed in action July 19 during a controlled detonation of the one-way unmanned aerial system at Erbil Air Base, the Department of War said. The incident remains under investigation.

His death brought the number of U.S. service members killed during the conflict with Iran to 17. The toll includes deaths from Iranian attacks as well as crashes and other incidents connected to American military operations in the region.

The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry issued a statement Tuesday saying it has “condemned in the strongest terms the renewed hostile attacks by Iran targeting the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with missiles and drones.” 

The ministry said the “hostile attacks constitute a flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the brotherly nations and a threat to their security and stability.” 

“The Ministry reiterated the UAE’s full solidarity with the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and its support for all measures aimed at safeguarding their security and stability,” it added. 

Iran has been launching attacks on countries in the Middle East in recent days at the U.S. military has been carrying out strikes against Iranian military targets. 

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) announced Tuesday that a ship was hit by an “unknown projectile” near the Strait of Hormuz. 

“The Master of a vessel reports being struck by an unknown projectile causing damage to the steering gear,” the UKMTO said, noting that the incident happened on Sunday. “All the crew are reported as safe. There is no environmental impact.” 

The UKMTO said Monday that a tanker reported being hit by an “unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz.” 

That incident forced the tanker’s crew to abandon vessel and enter a lifeboat, it added.

Jordan’s military intercepted three Iranian missiles and five drones on Tuesday, according to multiple reports from its state-run Petra news agency. 

A military source told Petra that the three Iranian missiles were targeting Jordanian territory on Tuesday afternoon local time and that the interceptions resulted in no casualties or material damage.  

Another source said Jordanian air defense systems neutralized five unmanned drones that originated from Iran overnight and Tuesday morning. 

The incidents come days after U.S. Central Command said two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action on July 17 as CENTCOM and partner forces “defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.” 

The fallen soldiers were later identified as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas.   

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this post.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will meet with President Donald Trump on Tuesday at the White House as the U.S. has been mediating talks between Israel and Lebanon. 

Talks in June led to a signed trilateral framework agreement between the United States, Israel and Lebanon. It set a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon as well as the disarmament of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed terrorist group based in Lebanon. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Aoun on Sunday, where according to the State Department, he “commended the courage of the Government of Lebanon, under President Aoun’s leadership, for their determined effort to reclaim Lebanon’s sovereignty, disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its terrorist infrastructure, and move towards peace.” 

“The Secretary reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to supporting the successful implementation of the Trilateral Framework and to backing the Government of Lebanon’s efforts to deliver peace, economic recovery, and a better future for the Lebanese people,” State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott added. 

The State Department announced Monday that operations in three villages deemed part of a “pilot zone” had begun, without giving details on what that entailed. Two of the three villages, Froun and Srifa, are not under Israeli military control and the Lebanese army is present there, while Israeli forces are in part of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, according to The Associated Press. 

The Lebanese army in a statement said it was preparing for Israel to withdraw from Zawtar al-Gharbieh and that it had begun deploying troops to the area Tuesday. The Israeli military said it “will adjust its force posture in one of the pilot areas in order to enable the Lebanese Armed Forces to carry out their mission,” without specifying the location. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed it had completed another round of new strikes against Iran at 9 p.m. ET on Monday.

The command said it struck Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems to “degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking commercial vessels flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.” 

“Commercial vessel transits through the vital international maritime corridor continue,” CENTCOM said in a post shared on X. 

“Since early May, CENTCOM forces have helped facilitate the transit of approximately 900 commercial vessels and 450 million barrels of crude oil,” it added before stating that U.S. forces are “postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression toward civilian mariners seeking to freely and openly transit the strait.”

Overthrowing Iran’s regime has returned to the agenda in parts of the Trump administration after diplomatic efforts appeared to have failed, the Financial Times reported Monday. 

“Elements of the Trump administration are once again flirting with Plan A — which is to topple the Iranian regime,” the newspaper said. 

In its analysis, the Financial Times also said efforts to encourage an internal uprising in Iran were back on Washington’s agenda. 

The report added that an earlier Israeli proposal to arm Kurdish groups opposed to Tehran was rejected by the administration but could now be revived as policymakers search for alternative options.

Yesterday’s Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the war with Iran.