NEW: A senior Pentagon official says the U.S. has spent about $25 billion on the war with Iran so far.

Rep. Smith: A year ago, you said that Ukraine had no cards to play. Clearly, that was wrong. What did you miss?

Hegseth: We didn’t miss. Joe Biden, with no accountability, gave hundreds of billions of dollars of our weapons to Ukraine.

Iran’s Ghalibaf:

The enemy has now entered a new phase and aims to activate maritime blockade, media warfare, economic pressure, and internal division to weaken or even collapse the country from within.

Pete Hegseth on Iran:

Calling this war a quagmire is a disgrace; we are only two months in.

Pete Hegseth on Iran:

Iran has been at war with us for 47 years. Do you want to talk about a forever war?

Moulton: Do you think we are winning the Iran war?

Hegseth: Absolutely.

Moulton: Do you call Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz winning?

Hegseth: The blockade we hold...

Moulton: So they blockaded us and we blockaded their blockade?

Pete Hegseth:

We are ensuring that Iran is not buying Chinese missiles.

Trump says the U.S. will maintain its naval blockade on Iran until a nuclear deal is reached, rejecting Tehran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz first.

“The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing… They are choking… They can't have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said.

Source: Axios

Trump to Axios:

The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing.

They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them.

Trump to Axios:

They don't want me to keep the blockade. I don't want to [lift the blockade], because I don't want them to have a nuclear weapon.

BIG: CENTCOM has drafted a plan for a "short and powerful" wave of strikes on Iran to break the negotiating stalemate.

Source: Axios

Moulton: Did you consider the risk of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz?

Hegseth: Of course.

Moulton: Then why did you send the only minesweepers we had in the Gulf to Singapore weeks before the war started?

Hegseth: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been obliterated.

Smith: You said we had to start this war because the nuclear weapon was an imminent threat. Now you’re saying it was completely obliterated?

Moulton: Do you know how much your war costs the average American taxpayer?

Hegseth: What is the cost of Iran having a nuclear weapon?

Moulton: You said, "we will give them no quarter, no mercy." That is a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. You understand that's murder. Do you stand by that statement?

Hegseth: The Department of War fights to win…

Moulton: You called for Democratic members of Congress to be tried for sedition for reminding our troops to follow the law. But when you tell them to commit a war crime, you stand by yourself.

Rep. Carbajal to Hegseth:

We have something in common. I’m also a fan of Pulp Fiction.

And no, the movie is not an accurate portrayal of the Bible. You know what I’m talking about.

Khanna: How much did it cost American taxpayers, in terms of the strike on the Iranian school where kids were killed, in terms of the missiles we used?

Hegseth: That unfortunate situation remains under investigation. I wouldn’t tie a cost to that.

Q: Why did you fire General George?

Hegseth: We needed new leadership.

Pete Hegseth on Iran:

What they are doing right now is effectively piracy. It’s terrorism. It’s threatening international shipping.

Pete Hegseth and Rep. Giménez agree that the U.S. has spent $300 billion to help Ukraine.

Even Trump’s number is usually around the $150 billion mark.