Iran-US war latest: Hegseth to face Senate grilling as Trump administration seeks $67B for growing military costs – UK Times

Massad Boulos, a senior adviser to Trump on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, told reporters that the president’s meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun “went very well.”

“There was a very good chemistry between the two presidents,” Boulos said. “It went very well. It was very productive.”

Asked whether the U.S. has any leverage over Hezbollah, Boulos said “there are always options.”

There are always tools that the president has at his disposal that he can employ at any time,” he said.

“There are many, many tools,” Boulos added. “You have seen already some of them by the Treasury Department, by other departments. The president and Secretary of State have always said they have tools at their disposal that they may choose to take up at any time.”

Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was killed in action during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone in Iraq on July 19.

Sgt. Swinton was assigned to D Battery, 2nd Battalion, 55th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Swinton was among at least three service members who were killed in recent days. At least two other service members were killed during a strike in Jordan, and remains that were recovered are believed to belong to a third service member who was missing after that attack.

The dignified transfer of the remains of at least one U.S. service member killed in the Middle East has been postponed, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Donald Trump was expected to attend the ceremony with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as the remains returned to the U.S. on Tuesday night at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

“The exact day and time are still being finalized,” Leavitt said.

The reason for the postponement was not immediately clear.

Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, is expected to tell top defense officials from Donald Trump’s administration that Americans “want to see a quick and strategic end to this war, not $70 billion of their tax dollars sent to keep it going.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine are asking for another $67 billion from Congress to cover mounting costs for the war after asking for $88 billion earlier this year.

They last testified to members of Congress about the war in May, around the same time they last delivered a public briefing to the press.

The war in Iran has reportedly left the U.S. military cash-strapped, forcing the Pentagon to divert funds from training and weapons purchases to plug the gaps.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is sure to be grilled about the funding crunch by lawmakers Tuesday to explain why his department requires another $67 billion when he goes in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

That hearing begins at 2:15 p.m.

The US has issued a “worldwide caution” for Americans in the Middle East following the collapse of an interim ceasefire agreement.

“Americans 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,” read a social media post on the government’s travel page.

“Please monitor embassy and consular security alerts, local authorities, and the news for breaking developments. Americans outside the Middle East should reconsider travel to and through the region.”

It said that the environment “remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation”.

“US diplomatic facilities, including outside the Middle East, have been targeted,” the statement continued.

“Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other US interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world.”

President Donald Trump warned Iran that the U.S. has been “nice” so far in its attacks against the Middle East nation as tensions continue to rise and the threat of full-blown war remains.

Two oil tankers which loaded Saudi crude for China and India this week have made U-turns in the Red Sea on Tuesday and were headed toward the Suez, shipping data on LSEG showed, following a warning from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia.

The Houthis on Monday declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front against the United States in its war with Iran and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.

Kpler told The Independent: “Bab el-Mandeb traffic remained active across the first five monitored days, with 209 verified crossings from 15–19 July. Daily activity moved from 53 crossings on 15 July to 36 on 16 July, 48 on 17 July, 30 on 18 July and 42 on 19 July.

“The 19 July rebound was supported by a broad mix of bulk carrier, tanker, container, livestock, Ro-Ro and general cargo movements. Only 1 of the 42 crossings on 19 July was classified as a dark transit, while the remaining 41 were traceable.”

Shipping companies should not load or discharge cargo at Saudi Arabian ports and such activity may result in being targeted “in any location” by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militia, according to an email sent to companies by the Houthis.

The Houthis sent an email to shipping companies on Tuesday saying: “Vessels are banned from loading or discharging cargo at or from any Saudi ports.

“We strongly recommend that your company exercise due diligence and the utmost care in all its dealings.”

The communication, seen by Reuters, and sent by the Houthis’ Sanaa-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center, continued: “Any such activity would expose the violating vessels to sanctions. Furthermore, they may be subject to targeting in any location within the operational reach of the Yemeni Armed Forces.”

President Donald Trump has said that the US will hit Pickaxe mountain in Iran “very soon” during a meeting with President Joseph Aoun in front of reporters at the White House on Tuesday.

He said the US would hit the mountain “pretty soon very heavily and there is nothing they can do about it”.

Pickaxe is a very heavily guarded underground facility in Iran.