Iran War Watch

Trump's budget director Vought declines to tell senators cost of Iran war​


Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, declined to give senators an estimate of the cost of the military operations against Iran when pressed on the issue during a hearing Thursday.

Vought said the White House is working on a request for additional defense funding but declined to offer an estimate of how much the war has cost taxpayers so far, telling lawmakers that the costs “fluctuate” day to day.

Asked by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) if the administration has already spent $50 billion on the conflict, as some media reports have indicated, Vought said: “I wouldn’t make a characterization of that at this point.”

That answer didn’t sit well with the senior Democrat, who told Vought, “I would expect you to have pretty good numbers on that so I’m a little disappointed in that answer.”

Vought also declined to confirm reports that the administration is planning to submit a request for $80 billion to $100 billion to fund military operations against Iran.

“If you were to be on the inside of the Department of War, these costs would fluctuate given the day. So I think it’s hard to give you an average cost,” Vought said.

Senators believe the war is costing the administration roughly $10 billion a week, but that number has yet to be officially confirmed by the White House or Pentagon.

Merkley later accused Vought of trying to “hide” the cost of the war at a time when the federal debt is more than $38 trillion.

“He doesn’t want a number to be out there because it’s a big number and it’s very disturbing to Americans that we’re spending 1 to 2 billion dollars a day” on the conflict, he told The Hill.

The White House requested $1.5 trillion in defense spending in its budget proposal for fiscal 2027, but that amount does not include the supplemental funding it wants Congress to approve soon for the military conflict with Iran.

Vought told senators that the White House is “working” on a request for supplemental defense funding to cover the costs of the military operations against Iran.
 
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Abbas Araghchi: "Why did we insist on uranium enrichment?"- "Why have we insisted—and continue to insist—so much on enrichment (uranium)? Why are we unwilling to give it up, even if war is imposed upon us? Because no one has the right to tell us what we should or should not possess. This is based on the principle of rejecting domination (nefy-i sulte).Enrichment is my right under the laws, and whether I exercise that right or not concerns only me. The narrative that's been told to us for years and still continues—'You have no right to enrich; enrichment must be zero'... Why? 'Because we're concerned,' they say.If you're concerned, we're ready to address those concerns. Is there a question? We'll answer it. Is trust lacking? We'll build trust. But no one has the right to say to us, 'You can't have this because I don't want you to.'This is the secret of our movement that's persisted for years; we've been insistent about our own rights. Enrichment is important, but even more important is proving that the Islamic Republic of Iran takes no orders from anyone and submits to no domination.If there are any questions or uncertainties regarding the goals of Iran's peaceful nuclear program, we're ready to provide answers and dispel that uncertainty. The path to that is solely through diplomacy. They've tried other paths and gotten nowhere.Negotiations will only reach a conclusion when the rights of the Iranian people are acknowledged, respected, and we can exercise our right. We're not waiting for anyone to recognize our right; our right is already legitimate in and of itself, our right exists. What we want is for our right to be respected."
 
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