Iran
US Iran War Bill Hits $37.5 Billion
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday that the war against Iran has cost the United States approximately $37.5 billion, up from an estimate of roughly $29 billion in mid-May.The revised figure reflects payroll, operations, maintenance, and other anticipated costs through the end of the fiscal year, according to Hegseth's written statement to the committee. The estimate does not include the cost of rebuilding US bases damaged in the conflict. Air & Space Forces MagazineThe costs trace to a specific set of drivers. Officials cited munitions replenishment, sustained naval operations in the Strait of Hormuz, and the collapse of a fragile ceasefire that had held since an earlier deal fell apart, according to Arab News. Hegseth was joined by Joint Chiefs Chair General Dan Caine, who acknowledged the limitations of airpower in the conflict.Democrats pressed the administration on why new funding is needed at all. Senator…
Pentagon Reveals Nearly 100 U.S. Troops Injured in Iran War
Nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured since fighting with Iran resumed on July 7, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Tuesday, adding that 96% have already returned to duty and that the "vast majority" suffered minor concussions or other non-life-threatening injuries, according to statements confirmed by CBS News and CNN.Even when U.S. air defenses intercept incoming drones and missiles, nearby detonations can still generate powerful blast waves capable of causing mild traumatic brain injuries among personnel sheltering in bunkers or defensive positions. Medical researchers have long identified blast overpressure as a leading cause of concussion in modern warfare, even without a direct hit.Parnell's disclosure came after CNN reported that the Pentagon has been slow to publicly confirm non-fatal casualties, relying primarily on the Defense Casualty Analysis System – a public database that Pentagon officials acknowledged may lag battlefield reporting by days or weeks – rather than routine military…
Bulgaria Seeks Approval to Host US Tankers
Bulgaria will ask parliament to approve deploying up to eight U.S. aerial refuelling aircraft at Bezmer Air Base to support American operations in the Middle East.Prime Minister Rumen Radev announced the request on July 20, saying the tankers would be stationed at the base 260 kilometres southeast of Sofia. By demanding a formal parliamentary vote, Radev casts strict constitutional compliance against the previous administration, which placed U.S. aircraft at a civilian airport near Sofia without legislative approval. The planes left the airport in June after the deployment prompted controversy.The request sharpens a contradiction in Bulgarian policy. In June, Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said Sofia would stop providing weapons to Ukraine and urged talks between Kyiv and Moscow. The decision reversed the military-support policy pursued in 2024 and 2025, despite a 10-year Bulgarian-Ukrainian security agreement signed only in March.The pattern reads as a hedge. By offering Bezmer as a node for…
US Not Ready for a Wider Iran War
An American official told The Washington Post that the Pentagon is preparing for a wider war with Iran, days after three US service members were killed in Jordan and Iraq, according to The Times of Israel.The official said dwindling stockpiles of air defense and long-range munitions, along with limited troop and aircraft surge capacity, would constrain expanded operations, warning that current supplies cannot safely sustain the campaign, according to The Times of Israel.Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly rejected shortage concerns, telling reporters the US has no munitions shortage and that stockpiles could sustain the war indefinitely, according to ABC News.A CSIS analysis of the war's first 39 days found the US had expended roughly half its Patriot interceptor stock and 20 to 24 percent of its SM-3 and SM-6 inventory, with full Patriot replenishment projected to take three years, according to CSIS.The Pentagon's official casualty count stood at 16…
US Confirms Deaths in Iranian Strike on Jordan Base
CENTCOM confirmed that two US service members were killed in action and one remains missing after Iranian ballistic missiles and drones struck Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on July 17, according to a US Central Command statement.Four additional service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and have since been discharged, while others treated for minor injuries have returned to duty, according to the same CENTCOM statement.The deaths mark the first American combat fatalities from direct Iranian fire since March and bring the US military death toll in the war to at least 17, according to Stars and Stripes.The base was struck twice in the preceding week, with an earlier attack wounding about 20 troops before the July 17 strike that killed the two service members, according to Stars and Stripes, citing The New York Times.Muwaffaq Salti, also known as Azraq, has been targeted repeatedly since the war began;…
Iranian Missiles Intercepted Near Eilat and Aqaba
Israeli and Jordanian forces intercepted Iranian missiles fired toward the Jordanian city of Aqaba on Sunday, prompting Israel to launch Iron Dome interceptors near the neighboring resort city of Eilat after shrapnel from an intercepted missile landed just north of the city. American air defense systems intercepted the primary missile warheads before Israeli systems shot down remaining debris, and flights to and from nearby Ramon Airport were briefly suspended during the interceptions, according to The Times of Israel.IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Israel was closely following the Aqaba attack and that its air defenses remained on high alert. He warned of a "harsh counterstrike" if Iran moved closer to Israeli territory, adding that the military was prepared to return to open war if further harmed, according to The Jerusalem Post.The Jordanian military said it downed three Iranian ballistic missiles targeting the kingdom's territory, while a fourth fell…
