Iran war costs soar past $29bn as truce teeters
• Before taking off on long-awaited China trip, Trump vows to ‘win peacefully or otherwise’ • Tehran expands Hormuz control as EU mulls post-war naval mission • Wall Street Journal claims UAE launched strikes on Iranian energy facility last month • Pakistan pushes China, Azerbaijan on ME peace; earns praise from US president for being ‘absolutely great’ mediator WASHINGTON: As prospects for peace in the Middle East diminished due to the rigid stances adopted by the US and Iran, the Pentagon on Tuesday said the conflict with Tehran had cost Washington more than $29 billion since the start of hostilities in February, even as consumer inflation in the US hit a three-year high in April. Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of comptroller, told US lawmakers on Tuesday that the bill included updated repair and replacement of equipment and operational costs, Reuters reported. “The joint staff team and the comptroller team are constantly looking at that estimate,” Hurst said. He was speaking alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine. On April 29, the Pentagon said the war had cost $25bn at that point. The statement came hours before President Donald Trump took off aboard Air Force One bound for China, the first trip by a US leader to the rival power in nearly a decade. He is set to hold talks on Thursday and Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping that will focus heavily on trade but also on potential friction points over Taiwan and Iran. Earlier, the US had rejected an Iranian response bound for China, the first trip by a US leader to the rival power in nearly a decade. Trump is set to hold talks on Thursday and Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping that will focus heavily on trade but also on potential friction points over Taiwan and Iran. Earlier, the US had rejected an Iranian response to its peace offer, with President Trump indicating that the ceasefire was on “mass...
Original source: Dawn Pakistan