U.S. Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said $37.5 billion (about 55.5 trillion won) has been spent so far on the war with Iran.
On the 21st (local time), Minister Hegseth appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee and said, "That figure includes some of the additional operations and maintenance, service members' pay, and other expenses expected through the end of the fiscal year."
He added, "Of the $37.5 billion, some items reflect actual expenses to date, and service members' pay, operations and maintenance, and other expenses include those expected to occur through Sept. 30 (the end of the fiscal year)."
When asked whether $67 billion of the $87.6 billion in supplemental funding requested by President Donald Trump to Congress was related to the Ministry of National Defense, Minister Hegseth said, "That number is broadly right."
He acknowledged there is still $75 billion in unspent funds from last year's appropriations and said, "It is slated to be allocated to plans and programs that must be pursued to rebuild our military."
Asked whether the U.S. military could destroy a nuclear facility that Iran is reportedly building underground at "Pickaxe Mountain" if it were bombed, Minister Hegseth avoided a direct answer, saying, "Much of our capability is classified."
When asked whether China and Russia are supporting Iran, Minister Hegseth said, "There is clearly a move to cooperate among adversaries," adding, "We have several ways to deter that."
He said, "Some of those methods and the depth and scope of (China and Russia's) cooperation with Iran are classified," adding, "Both countries (China and Russia) have ways, at different levels, of enabling some of the activities Iran engages in."
Dan Caine, the JCS chair, on China and Russia's support for Iran, said, "We don't want the enemy to know what we know," adding, "It's better not to discuss specifics."
Minister Hegseth said the war aim with Iran—"preventing the acquisition of nuclear weapons"—is consistent and clear, drawing a comparison with North Korea's nuclear development.
Minister Hegseth noted, "In North Korea, conventional force buildup was used to mask nuclear capabilities, and those nuclear capabilities have advanced to a level that can no longer be deterred."
He said what Iran "sought to continue even after 'Midnight Hammer' (the U.S. bombing of Iran's underground nuclear facility in June last year)" was a buildup of conventional forces, adding, "Striking their conventional capabilities—namely, missile launchers, the defense industrial base, and the navy—is all part of that effort."
During his opening remarks at the hearing, Minister Hegseth's comments were interrupted four times as several attendees shouted slogans such as "opposition to war."