Washington, May 1 (IANS) China’s growing military assertiveness and its alignment with Russia, Iran and North Korea emerged as a central theme during a high-stakes US Senate hearing on defence spending, with potential implications for India’s strategic calculus.Senate Armed Services Committee, Chairman Roger Wicker warned that the United States is in “the most dangerous security environment since World War II,” pointing to intensifying competition with Beijing.“We’re locked in a comp…
Latest Pete Hegseth News & Updates
Washington, May 1 (IANS) US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth mounted a forceful defence of President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.5 trillion military budget, arguing it reflects “the urgency of the moment” and is essential to counter a rapidly deteriorating global security environment.Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth said the record request would “position our forces for the current and future fights” while reversing years of “underinvestment and mismanageme…
Washington, May 1 (IANS) A heated Senate hearing saw sharp clashes between US SEcretary of War Pete Hegseth and lawmakers, as divisions deepened over the Iran war, rising costs and a proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget.At the Senate Armed Services Committee, Democratic and some independent senators challenged the administration’s claims of success in Iran and questioned the scale of military spending.Ranking Member Jack Reed led the criticism, accusing the administration of entering an “un…
Washington, May 1 (IANS) US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that he believes the ceasefire with Iran “pauses” a 60-day clock on congressional authorization for war.Hegseth made the remarks when asked by Democratic Senator Tim Kaine at a congressional hearing on Thursday about whether the Trump administration would seek authorization from Congress for the war with Iran on the 60-day mark of the war as required by law, Xinhua news agency reported.”Ultimately, I would defer to the White House a…
Washington, April 30 (IANS) A senior Pentagon official has said that the cost of the ongoing US war against Iran is estimated to be 25 billion US dollars so far, as the conflict has dragged on for two months. “Approximately, on this day, we’re spending about 25 billion dollars on Operation Epic Fury,” acting Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst III told the House Armed Services Committee, as he testified alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine.Hur…
Washington, April 30 (IANS) Disruptions from the US war with Iran are pushing up fuel prices and straining global energy supplies, lawmakers warned, citing mounting pressure on economies worldwide.At a congressional hearing on Wednesday (local time), lawmakers pointed to instability around the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global oil flows, as a major source of concern.Ranking member Adam Smith said the economic fallout is already visible. “The impact on the economy certainly here…
Washington, April 28 (IANS) Four senior Democratic senators have launched an investigation into the Pentagon’s handling of troop protection during Operation Epic Fury, citing reports that six US service members were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait without adequate warning or defences.In a sharply worded letter to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Kirsten Gillibrand and Mark Kelly raised “disturbing allegations” that the Department of Defense f…
Washington, April 24 (IANS) The US on Friday warned that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains under heightened risk, even as limited transit continues amid escalating tensions with Iran. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, said vessels were still moving through the critical waterway but under conditions of increased danger due to Iranian actions.”Transit is occurring… much more limited than anybody would like to see and with more risk than people would like to see,” he said at a Pentagon …
Washington, April 24 (IANS) The Pentagon has launched what it described as its most comprehensive review of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, revisiting decisions that led to the chaotic 2021 exit. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the review aims to provide a full accounting of events leading up to and during the withdrawal.“There’s never actually been a full accounting… of the decisions that were made,” he said during a press briefing.He described the ongoing ef…
Washington, April 24 (IANS) The United States on Friday said its expanding naval blockade of Iran was tightening “by the hour”, as Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted that Tehran faced a stark choice between a nuclear deal and mounting economic collapse under sustained American pressure.“Operation Epic Fury has delivered decisive military results in just weeks,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon, contrasting it with “endless wars of the past” that “dragged on for years and…