News and Analysis 7/22/26

As the Pentagon seeks billions more for the Iran war, some lawmakers are frustrated its inability to provide straight answers:

• Hegseth Says Iran War Has Cost $37.5B So Far and Pentagon Needs $67B to Restock Arms (PBS)
• Hegseth Faces Bipartisan Scrutiny as Iran War Escalates (Washington Post)
• WATCH: Kennedy Presses Top Military Officials for ‘Straight Talk’ on Fallout if U.S. Leaves Iran Now (PBS)
• 5 Takeaways from Hegseth, Caine Hearing on Emergency Iran Funding 5 Takeaways from Hegseth, Caine Hearing on Emergency Iran Funding  (The Hill)

The “bailout for the farmers was necessitated by the war with Iran. They’re trying to compensate them for higher fuel prices and higher fertilizer prices”:

• Massie Says Money for Farmers in Iran War Supplemental Is ‘Ironic’ (The Hill)

“Trump said Tuesday that the United States will soon target the area near Pickaxe Mountain — a fortified underground site near one of Iran’s primary nuclear enrichment facilities”:

• WATCH: Trump Says U.S. Will Hit Area of Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain ‘Very Heavily’ (PBS)

“The Houthis, who control northern and western Yemen including the coast at the mouth of the Red Sea, announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on Monday”:

• 2 Tankers Carrying Saudi Oil Reverse Course in Red Sea After Houthi Threat, amid Widening U.S.-Iran War (CBC)

“A barrage of U.S. strikes hasn’t loosened Iran’s grip on the strait, through which about one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas was shipped before the war”:

• US Military Completes 11th Night of Strikes on Iran as Attacks Overshadow Diplomacy (AP)

Israeli war crimes continue:

• Palestine Weekly: Ahead of Elections, Israel Doubles Down on Attacks (Aljazeera)

A former U.S. policy in the Middle East suggests that “a case is building to reposition U.S. forces farther from Iran’s reach”:

• Rising U.S. Casualties in the Iran War Should Force a Rethink of Middle East Basing (CFR)

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