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Despite a ceasefire<\/span> that has been in effect for more than a month, the cost of the U.S. war with Iran keeps spiking higher, a senior Pentagon official said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Two weeks ago, the Pentagon claimed the war had cost $25 billion, a figure that analysts said was likely a gross undercount. In testimony before the\u00a0House Appropriations defense subcommittee, the Department of War\u2019s comptroller, Jay Hurst, said the cost of the war has risen \u201ccloser\u201d to $29 billion because of the \u201crepair and replacement of equipment\u201d and \u201cgeneral operational costs\u201d of keeping troops in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Experts also expressed skepticism at this revised count.<\/p>\n \u201cThe costs of this war are still growing, and the Pentagon is still not being straight with taxpayers or lawmakers about the numbers. If the numbers being thrown around in committee hearings were complete, why would the Pentagon continue withholding a comprehensive, itemized cost assessment from Congress?\u201d said Gabe Murphy, a policy analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan budget watchdog advocating for an end to wasteful spending. \u201cTaxpayers deserve answers, and lawmakers need them in order to craft a responsible budget.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf they can\u2019t defend the nation with a trillion dollars, they\u2019re doing it wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n Hurst, War Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are on Capitol Hill to discuss the Pentagon\u2019s $1.5 trillion budget request for 2027 before House and Senate appropriations subcommittees on Tuesday. Hegseth said the massive sum \u2014 the largest request in history \u2014 \u201creflects the urgency of the moment\u201d and would address both the \u201cdeferment of long-standing problems as well as position our forces for the current and future fight.\u201d<\/p>\n Murphy called the dramatic 45 percent increase a negotiating tactic. \u201cThey\u2019re seeking $350 billion<\/a> through reconciliation and $1.15 trillion in the base budget, but they know reconciliation is a long shot. It\u2019s all about trying to make a $1.15 trillion Pentagon budget seem reasonable in comparison,\u201d said Murphy. \u201cBut there\u2019s nothing reasonable about it. It\u2019s a roughly $150 billion increase over last year.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Americans, Murphy said, deserve an explanation for the runaway military budget. \u201cIf they can\u2019t defend the nation with a trillion dollars, they\u2019re doing it wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n President Donald Trump said Monday that the ceasefire with Iran \u2014 which went into effect on April 8<\/a> \u2014 is \u201con life support\u201d after Iran\u2019s response to the latest U.S. peace proposal. Reuters<\/a>, citing Iranian state media, reported that Iran\u2019s proposal included war reparations from the United States, lifting sanctions<\/a> on Tehran, and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Trump rejected Iran\u2019s reply as \u201ctotally unacceptable\u201d and called it a \u201cpiece of garbage.\u201d<\/p>\n Hegseth said the Pentagon was prepared to reignite hostilities with Iran. \u201cWe have a plan to escalate, if necessary; we have a plan to retrograde if necessary. We have a plan to shift assets,\u201d the secretary testified, declining to say more in the public hearing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n