Defense https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense Defense en-US Fri, 18 Sep 2026 20:32:21 GMT Pentagon Failed to Disclose at Least Four Service Members Deaths: Report https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/pentagon-service-members-deaths-washington-post-report Angie Orellana Hernandez Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the report “DISGUSTING and FAKE.” Fri, 18 Sep 2026 20:32:21 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/pentagon-service-members-deaths-washington-post-report The seal is seen on a podium at the Pentagon.
The Pentagon’s casualty database says at least 18 American service members have died in the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Mark Schiefelbein/AP
The Pentagon has not disclosed the deaths of at least four additional service members who have died in the Middle East amid the ongoing military operations in Iran, The Washington Post reported Friday.

The Defense Department has faced questions about its transparency regarding the number of military fatalities and injuries that have been released regarding the war in Iran, which has lasted for nearly seven months with no clear end in sight. In July, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon did not disclose an episode of three Iranian strikes in Jordan that injured dozens of service members.

Details remain unclear on the four additional deaths that have not been disclosed, including when and how they died, officials told the Post, which said it granted the officials anonymity to discuss the matter. One official told the outlet that not all of the deaths are directly related to the Iran war but have involved American personnel who were present in the Middle East during hostilities.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Washington Sun, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the Post’s report.

“This is DISGUSTING and FAKE,” he wrote on X. “Shame on the Washington Post — they’re worse than Iranian state media.”

The Pentagon’s casualty database says at least 18 American service members have died and more than 400 troops have been injured in the Middle East since the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. The Pentagon classified four of the 18 deaths as “Overseas Operation” given that they occurred after the Trump administration reached a ceasefire deal with Iran.

The ceasefire has since collapsed due to ongoing violence in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Pentagon also has been slow to acknowledge destruction of military infrastructure caused by Iranian attacks. Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao told The Epoch Times earlier this month that the Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain sustained extensive damage following repeated Iranian attacks since February, despite the Pentagon initially saying these strikes have not significantly disrupted operations.

This article has been updated with a post from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.]]> Trump Administration Clears Saudi F-35s Sale Despite Intelligence Warnings https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/trump-administration-clears-saudi-f-35s-sale-despite-intelligence-warnings Hamed Ahmadi U.S. intelligence has warned the sale could make the sensitive military technology accessible to China, which has military ties to the Saudis. Fri, 18 Sep 2026 19:23:46 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/trump-administration-clears-saudi-f-35s-sale-despite-intelligence-warnings US F35 fighter jet
U.S. intelligence officials raised concerns that Saudi Arabia’s growing military and technology ties with China could create opportunities for Beijing to obtain information about the F-35 fighter jet. (Fatima Shbair/AP)
The Trump administration has formally cleared a potential $24.3 billion sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, moving ahead despite U.S. intelligence warnings that China could gain access to some of the military’s most sensitive technology.

The State Department notified Congress on Thursday of the proposed sale of 48 F-35s, opening a 30-day congressional review period. The package also includes 49 Pratt & Whitney engines, secure communications equipment, electronic warfare support, training and other services.

The move comes after U.S. intelligence officials raised concerns that Saudi Arabia’s growing military and technology ties with China could create opportunities for Beijing to obtain information about the advanced fighter jet.

A recent U.S. intelligence assessment warned about Chinese military access to Saudi bases and Chinese technology in the kingdom’s telecommunications infrastructure, according to The New York Times. The assessment raised questions about whether sensitive F-35 systems could be adequately protected if the aircraft are based in Saudi Arabia.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, a senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said Thursday that the sale should not go forward “when our own intelligence community is warning that it could put the crown jewels of American military technology within reach of the Chinese Communist Party.”

Congress is also investigating a separate incident involving sensitive F-35 technology and China after parts being shipped from Australia to the U.S. for repairs were diverted to Hong Kong this summer. Some of the components remain missing.

The State Department says the sale would strengthen Saudi homeland defense, improve interoperability with U.S., regional and NATO forces, and help Riyadh deter threats. It also says the deal “will not alter the military balance in the region.”

That assertion could draw scrutiny because Israel is the only country in the Middle East operating the F-35. If the sale is completed, Saudi Arabia would become the second — and the first Arab country — to fly the fifth-generation stealth fighter.

U.S. law requires the government to consider Israel’s qualitative military edge when approving major weapons sales to other countries in the region.

The State Department also says the sale would not hurt U.S. military readiness or require additional permanent U.S. personnel in Saudi Arabia.

President Donald Trump first publicly announced plans to sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia in November, ahead of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington. The White House later said Trump had approved a broader defense package that included future F-35 deliveries.

The formal notification brings the deal much closer to completion but does not make the sale final. Congress now has 30 calendar days to review the proposal and can try to block it through a joint resolution of disapproval.

Congressional opposition to Saudi weapons sales is not new, but the F-35 deal raises a different set of concerns because of the sensitivity of the aircraft’s technology.

The potential sale also comes as Saudi Arabia faces growing security threats from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. Fighting between Saudi-backed forces and the Houthis has intensified, and Saudi territory has come under drone and missile attacks.

Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney would be the main contractors for the jets and engines, respectively.]]> Pentagon Issues Male-Only Testosterone Guidance After Scrapping Its First Version https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/pentagon-new-testosterone-guidance-after-scrapping-first-version Hamed Ahmadi The new guideline does not include automatic blood testing for men 30 and older. Fri, 18 Sep 2026 15:17:44 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/pentagon-new-testosterone-guidance-after-scrapping-first-version Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a meeting.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously called for more testosterone screening. Kevin Wolf/AP
The Pentagon issued new, narrower testosterone-screening guidance for male troops Thursday, two weeks after abruptly pulling its first version.

The Defense Health Agency guideline leaves female service members out for now and makes clear that men 30 and older will not automatically receive a testosterone blood test. Instead, the Pentagon is requiring a symptom and risk-factor screening, with laboratory testing used to determine whether troops have a deficiency.

Men under 30 can also be screened if they request it or if a clinician sees a reason to evaluate them.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s original announcement did not distinguish between male and female troops. The Pentagon says separate guidance for female service members is still under review.

That is a notable change from the guidance the Pentagon published earlier this month and removed the next day. That version included separate pathways for men and women and called for mandatory testosterone blood tests for men 30 and older. The female pathway covered hormonal issues, low energy availability and menstrual problems.

The Pentagon said at the time that it had temporarily rescinded the document to make updates. Tim Parlatore, a senior adviser to Hegseth, later said the guidance had been posted “inadvertently” and needed more input to make sure it reflected current medical science.

Under the replacement, men 30 and older will first receive a structured assessment of symptoms and risk factors. A diagnosis requires symptoms consistent with low testosterone and low hormone levels measured on two separate days.

The guidance also tells clinicians to account for factors such as illness, severe sleep deprivation and extreme physical stress, which can temporarily lower testosterone levels.

Hegseth ordered the department in July to make testosterone screening mandatory during periodic health assessments for active-duty and reserve service members 30 and older, casting the effort as part of a broader push to improve health and military readiness.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said Thursday that identifying and treating “suboptimal hormone levels” would help strengthen troops’ performance and maximize military readiness.

But the program drew questions from doctors and lawmakers over whether the Pentagon had shown a medical need to screen such a large population.

The Endocrine Society recommends against routine testosterone screening for men in the general population and says a diagnosis should be based on symptoms and repeatedly low testosterone levels.

A group of Senate Democrats also pressed Hegseth in July for the scientific basis of the policy, its cost, the testing protocols and evidence that screening or treatment would improve military readiness.]]> Hegseth’s Preferred Army Chief Faces Long Odds in the Senate https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/hegseth-preferred-army-chief-faces-long-odds-senate Joe Gould Republican lawmakers say Sean Parnell’s abuse allegations and restrictions on the Pentagon press are liabilities to getting confirmation votes. Fri, 18 Sep 2026 09:01:00 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/hegseth-preferred-army-chief-faces-long-odds-senate Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell emerged as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s favored candidate last month to succeed Dan Driscoll, who resigned after months of tension with Hegseth. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
Republican senators said they see no path to confirmation for Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, as a potential Army secretary, complicating the prospects for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s preferred candidate as the White House considers a wider field.

The reluctance underscores the liabilities Parnell would bring to a confirmation fight, including abuse allegations he has denied and his role implementing Hegseth’s restrictions on the Pentagon press corps. Several less controversial candidates are also in the mix as the White House weighs who should lead the Army through an ongoing war with Iran, strained arms stockpiles and an ambitious modernization push.

Parnell emerged as Hegseth’s favored candidate last month to succeed Dan Driscoll, who resigned after months of tension with Hegseth over the defense secretary’s removal of senior officers. But Parnell is already encountering pushback from Republicans whose confirmation votes he would need.

“It’s hard for me to imagine that could possibly happen,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said when asked about the prospect of Parnell making it through the Senate. “His record, particularly the spousal abuse stuff, is just a bridge too far for the vast majority of people. Not to mention there are other good people.”

A Senate Republican aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, took a similar view about Parnell’s prospects. “It’s just simply not feasible,” the aide said. “Everyone knows the backing just isn’t there.”

Parnell has denied the abuse allegations, which his estranged wife made during divorce and child-custody proceedings and that surfaced during Parnell's aborted run for Senate in 2021.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) said he would vote against Parnell if President Donald Trump nominates him, arguing he lacks independence and experience.

“I feel like we need less of an echo chamber” at the Pentagon, said Tillis, who is retiring after his second term ends in January. “If we’re going to have to have Hegseth in this role, I’d at least like to have more people around him that are going to be more independent and look around corners. I don’t see Parnell doing that.”

Tillis, who voted to confirm Hegseth, has since become one of the secretary’s most outspoken Republican critics. He also faulted Parnell for implementing Hegseth’s ouster of the Pentagon’s resident press corps.

“That's already demonstrated a lack of confidence,” Tillis said. “If you're proud of your work product, you want press to ask you the tough questions and answer them. If you're worried about it, then you box them out.”

The White House has not named Driscoll’s successor, but two people familiar with the deliberations describe a broader White House vetting process. It’s being overseen by the White House, the people familiar said, and the ability to get a nominee through the Senate is a priority.

In response to a request for comment, the Pentagon repeated its recent statement, saying that Parnell is “100%” focused on his current job. The White House said Trump would make a choice on his own timetable.

“The President will announce a nominee for the next Secretary of the Army at a time and place of his choosing — statements from anonymous sources claiming to have insight into the President’s thinking should be treated as mere speculation,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement.

Kelly also praised Driscoll’s tenure, saying he had advanced Trump’s agenda by emphasizing readiness and lethality, and assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

One U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, defended Parnell’s record and said Hegseth has personally made the case for him to Trump. Hegseth has also discussed Parnell with White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino in recent weeks, according to the official.

A separate person familiar with the matter said that Parnell was among multiple names Hegseth presented to the Presidential Personnel Office, which acts as an executive search firm.

The U.S. official said Parnell is an excellent candidate to lead the Army, pointing to his combat experience and his 18 months working inside the Pentagon, arguing Parnell knows how to navigate the department’s bureaucracy and has relationships needed to carry out Trump and Hegseth’s agenda.

“He knows how the building operates; he knows the ins and outs,” the official said. “He knows who to talk to and how to get things done.”

The abuse allegations are a non-issue, the official said, noting that the judge who initially awarded full custody to his wife vacated that order and that Parnell and his former wife now share custody of their children.

Parnell has some Republican support. Sen. Dave McCormick, from Parnell’s home state of Pennsylvania, said Thursday on social media that he hoped Parnell was being considered for the role and praised Parnell’s “great family.”“Sean is a good friend, a decorated combat veteran, a true patriot, and a fellow Pennsylvanian,” McCormick said. “I have full confidence that if Sean is given the honor of serving in this role, he will do so with courage and distinction.”

Several other Republican senators this week praised Acting Army Secretary Adam Telle, a longtime Senate aide who was the Senate-confirmed assistant secretary for civil works when Trump elevated him to the acting role earlier this month.

“I like that guy who’s in there, Adam Telle,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama), a senior Senate Armed Services Committee member. “He’d be pretty hard to beat. He’s doing a great job.”

Cramer said he would be “very happy” with Telle and said the acting secretary has one significant advantage over other potential candidates: senators already know him.“Adam is so solid,” Cramer said. “He talks with them so respectfully, and they respond in kind, even when they disagree.”

Beyond his Senate ties, Telle has strong relationships with the White House and Hegseth, which could ease his path to confirmation if he were nominated.

He served for four years as chief of staff to Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tennessee) and previously worked for then-Sens. Thad Cochran and Richard Shelby and on the Senate Appropriations Committee. During Trump’s first term, Telle worked in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, where his responsibilities included national security and appropriations.

Telle played a substantial role in preparing Hegseth for his confirmation, helping to organize mock hearings and facilitating Hegseth’s meetings with senators.

Other candidates for the Army secretary job include Dane Hughes, the assistant secretary for legislative affairs, and Army Comptroller Marc Andersen — who has been reaching out to lawmakers to make his case for the job, according to one of the people familiar with the deliberations. Derrick Anderson, the Pentagon’s assistant secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict, and Mike Obadal, the Army under secretary, are also possible candidates.

Democrats are unlikely to provide votes to confirm Trump’s pick for Driscoll’s successor because of broader tensions about Hegseth and the Trump administration’s national security policies. That leaves Senate Republicans with little wiggle room to lose any votes in the confirmation process, and that threshold appears to be breached with several Republicans saying Parnell is a no-go for them.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona), an Armed Services member who voted for some of Trump’s nominees this term, said he now regrets some of those votes because administration officials have failed to show enough independence from the president.

“I admit when I make mistakes,” Kelly said. “Some of these people seemed competent and could be their own person. Almost every one of them turned into a yes-person for Donald Trump, and they will not speak truth to power.”]]> Trump Says U.S. Is Making ‘Major Progress’ on Army Base in Poland https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/trump-us-army-base-poland Hamed Ahmadi The European ally has pushed for a larger permanent American military presence for months. Thu, 17 Sep 2026 21:47:19 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/trump-us-army-base-poland Trump
“If this happens, the location will be announced very soon,” President Donald Trump said in a social media post. (Alex Brandon/AP)
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States is making “major progress” toward establishing a permanent Army base in Poland, a move that could expand American military presence on NATO’s eastern flank.

“If this happens, the location will be announced very soon,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This will be a historic step for our Great U.S./Polish Alliance.”

Polish President Karol Nawrocki welcomed Trump’s announcement and said his government would work to provide “the best possible location for the US Army base.”

The announcement comes a week after Pentagon officials traveled to Poland for talks on expanding the military’s presence there.

A U.S. delegation led by Pentagon official William Cappelletti met with Polish officials and visited sites in Powidz and Poznan. The two sides agreed to create working groups.

It is not clear whether either location is being considered for the proposed base.

The Army already has a permanent presence in Poland. U.S. Army Garrison Poland is headquartered in Poznan, and V Corps maintains a forward headquarters there.

But much of the larger U.S. force in Poland, about 10,000 service members, is rotational, with troops deploying there for limited periods rather than being permanently stationed. Trump announced in May that the U.S. would send another 5,000 troops to the country.

That rotational presence has already sparked tension this year. The Pentagon halted a planned rotation of roughly 4,000 Army soldiers to Poland in May, surprising Polish officials and drawing criticism from some lawmakers. Poland’s defense minister said in July that the rotation would resume.

That leaves a major question about what Trump’s proposed base would change. The administration has not said whether it would build a new installation, expand an existing site or permanently station additional Army units in Poland.

The Pentagon referred all questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Poland has pushed for a larger permanent American presence for months. The Polish government formally proposed a permanent U.S. base earlier this year and has begun preparations for negotiations over its location, infrastructure and cost.

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in June that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had responded positively to the proposal, though no final agreement had been reached. Kosiniak-Kamysz is set to meet with Hegseth again next week in Washington to discuss the matter along with Russia-related threats to NATO’s eastern flank and Poland’s security.

The talks are unfolding as the Pentagon reviews the broader U.S. military presence in Europe, including whether to reduce or reposition some of the roughly 80,000 American troops on the continent.]]> U.N.-Backed Experts Say the U.S. May Have Committed War Crimes in Iran https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/un-backed-experts-us-war-crimes-iran Associated Press They also accused Iran’s government of carrying out crimes against humanity. Thu, 17 Sep 2026 12:24:18 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/un-backed-experts-us-war-crimes-iran Arubble-strewn classroom at Shajareh Tayyebeh school, damaged in a U.S. airstrike on Feb. 28, in Minab, southern Iran,
Iranian state media have said 168 people, most of them children, were killed in a strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh school. (Vahid Salemi/AP)
By Jamey Keaten

GENEVA — Human rights experts commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body say they have found “reasonable grounds” to believe the United States committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran, including on a school in the southern city of Minab. They also accuse Iran’s theocratic government of carrying out crimes against humanity against its own people in a report published Thursday.

The report, while not binding, adds to international evidence gathered about crimes in the war in Iran, and could eventually be used in efforts to reach justice in international courts.

The fact-finding mission on Iran, chaired by jurist Sara Hossain of Bangladesh, is made up of independent experts and was created in 2022 by the Human Rights Council, the U.N.’s top human rights body, which is based in Geneva.

The experts were expected to present their findings on Monday to the council, which is made up of 47 U.N. member countries.

The Team Says the U.S. Launched ‘Indiscriminate’ Attacks

The international fact-finding mission says its findings on U.S. war crimes center on a pair of U.S. airstrikes that killed at least 178 civilians, including women and children.

At the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran in February, at least one U.S. missile hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, according to an Associated Press investigation. There has been no final accounting of what happened.

Iranian state media have said 168 people were killed in the strike, most of them children.

“Following the United States and Israeli attacks on 28 February, the mission found reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed the war crime of launching indiscriminate attacks resulting in the loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects,” a U.N. statement about the team's findings said.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press seeking comment.

In their report, the experts concluded that “the building of the school was the intended point of impact” and the resulting damage wasn’t the result of an errant strike or collateral damage from an attack on a compound of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard next to the school.

The Trump administration has yet to directly accept responsibility or release the findings of a Pentagon investigation into the school bombing.

The U.N.-backed team based its allegations on two strikes — one involving Tomahawk missiles that hit the “clearly identifiable” school, and another in which Precision Strike Missiles dispersed tungsten pellets over a “clearly identifiable sports complex and residential area” in the southern city of Lamerd, also on Feb. 28.

The U.N.-backed team said 22 civilian men and women were killed. U.S. Central Command has denied responsibility for the strike on Lamerd.

Experts Cite ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ by Iran's Government

The team found that killings by state security forces in Iran have occurred on a “staggering scale,” and civilians faced “gross human rights violations and crimes against humanity committed by their own government."

Iranian security forces carried out “violent repression” over the last two years by firing assault rifles into crowds, beating protesters and arresting healthcare workers, among other things, the team said. Detainees faced torture, and were deprived of legal counsel, leaving their families “in the dark” about their whereabouts, the experts said.

The Tehran government intensified the use of the death penalty, and said more than 70 people – including five women and three boys – remain at “imminent risk of execution,” they added.

“The report concluded that many of these gross violations amount to crimes against humanity — including murder, imprisonment, torture, and other inhumane acts committed as part of a widespread and systematic attack on civilians,” the statement said.

Both U.S. And Iran Should Provide Reparations, They Say

The experts said the United States and Iran should halt all rights violations and crimes, and provide “full reparations to victims.”

The report, built on a “victims-centered approach,” was based on interviews with 73 people both inside and outside Iran, along with documentation, satellite imagery, photographic and video material and information from “credible” organizations and experts, the experts wrote.

The ongoing conflict that has driven people from their homes in Iran as well as an internet shutdown and a lack of full cooperation from the two governments partially impeded the team's efforts to get information.

Nearly three dozen requests from the experts for information from Iran's government went unanswered, they said, as have requests in June to the U.S. government for information and meetings with officials.]]> Troops Must Prepare to Fight Around the Moon, Top Military Adviser Says https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/us-troops-moon Associated Press Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. military should adapt now so it “is prepared to fight, endure and win ... from the seabed to cislunar space.” Wed, 16 Sep 2026 21:45:30 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/us-troops-moon Senate Defense
It's not clear whether deploying weapons in space or possible plans to use them around the moon will run afoul of international treaties that prevent the militarization of space. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
By Konstantin Toropin

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (AP) — American troops need to prepare for combat not only in Earth's orbit but around the moon, President Donald Trump’s top military adviser said Wednesday, looking ahead to a new frontier in warfare after the U.S. revealed for the first time that it has deployed weapons in space.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told service members and industry figures at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference outside Washington that the U.S. military should adapt now so it “is prepared to fight, endure and win ... from the seabed to cislunar space.”

Space Force, the newest military service, which was created by Trump in 2019, is preparing to fight in space and around the moon because “humanity is advancing deeper into space — the Space Force’s job is to help be prepared to defend U.S. interests,” Lt. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, head of the force’s Combat Forces Command, told reporters separately.

The announcement that the U.S. military is ready to fight in the area between high Earth orbit and the moon itself comes days after Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed at the same conference that the U.S. has fielded “on-orbit space control weapons."

The spate of announcements about space weaponry from military officials over recent days flies in the face of long-standing conventions and international understandings that have held outer space as only to be used for peaceful purposes and remain non-militarized.

While multiple nations, including the U.S., have demonstrated the ability to shoot down satellites in Earth orbit, those demonstrations have taken place from the ground against their own satellites.

However, according to Gagnon, “the intelligence community has been clear that potential adversaries have been seeking to extend warfare into space” and that the U.S. military needs to react.

“Our potential adversaries such as the PRC are actively pursuing activities in the system, in parts of space,” Gagnon said, referring to the People's Republic of China, the country's official name.

China established its own military space troops in 2024, charging them with boosting capability to manage space crises.

When asked about the U.S. announcement on deploying weapons in space, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters Tuesday that “China always upholds the peaceful use of outer space, maintains outer space security and opposes the weaponization, militarization and an arms race in outer space.”

Guo also urged the U.S. to “stop expanding its military preparations in outer space.”

It is not clear whether deploying weapons in space or possible plans to use them around the moon will run afoul of international treaties that prevent the militarization of space.

The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which the U.S. and China have signed, says celestial objects such as the moon are to be used “exclusively for peaceful purposes,” nuclear weapons cannot be placed in space and countries are “liable for damage caused by their space objects.”

There was a renewed push two years ago to further bolster anti-militarization measures in the United Nations following U.S. reports that Russia was developing a space-based weapon.

Russia vetoed a joint U.S.-Japanese resolution that would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under the treaty. A rival Russian resolution to ban all weapons in space “for all time” also ultimately failed.

When asked about the 1967 treaty and other similar obligations, Gagnon said the U.S. Space Force “will continue to execute safe and responsible space operations in all the reaches of space.”

However, he would not say what Space Force or overall U.S. military policy was on the use of weapons like bullets or projectiles in space. He directed questions to the Pentagon, which did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Gagnon also says the U.S. aims to double the size of the Space Force over the next five years — to roughly 25,000 service members — and that about two-thirds of that growth would be focused on Combat Forces Command.

“We have capabilities in the military because we are preparing to defend the nation," Gagnon said. "The reason we have the capabilities is to help create deterrence.”]]> Republican Senators Say Even Their Trump-Loving Constituents Are Tired of the Iran War https://www.washingtonsun.com/congress/republican-senators-trump-tired-iran-war Hamed Ahmadi Back after a five-week recess, the lawmakers say people at home are worried about rising prices as the fighting continues. Wed, 16 Sep 2026 13:41:07 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/congress/republican-senators-trump-tired-iran-war Sen. Bill Cassidy
“They don’t like it,” Sen. Bill Cassidy said of the people he spoke with back home. (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Republican senators returned to Washington this week, saying their constituents want answers about how President Donald Trump’s Iran war will end after more than six months of fighting.

“They don’t like it,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) said of the people he spoke with back home. “Even the people that love the president don’t like it.”

While constituent complaints about rising prices were nearly universal during the lawmakers’ five-week recess, some Republicans said people in their state expressed concerns over the war’s duration, and others said voters want clarity about America’s goals in the conflict.

What Trump aims to get from Iran remains a mystery to many Texans, Sen. John Cornyn said of his conversations with constituents.

“If the president was clear on what the objectives were that we were trying to achieve, I think they would be more patient,” Cornyn said. “But in the absence of that, I think there’s just confusion.”

Sen. Thom Tillis said the war has become a top-three campaign issue in North Carolina, where the large military and veteran population has kept the war’s human cost at the forefront. Voters remain most focused on the economy, he said, but the war’s duration has made the lack of measurable progress harder to ignore.

For a war the Trump administration said would take weeks to complete, Sen. Mike Rounds said the months of back-and-forth attacks are wearing thin with folks in South Dakota.

“Most of them thought it would be quick in and out, similar to Venezuela, and that wasn’t the case,” he said.

Trump said last week that he expected the war to end “immediately after” the November elections. But senior advisers, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have privately warned that Iran could resist through the remainder of Trump’s presidency.

Recent polling shows broad dissatisfaction with the war. An August UMass survey found that 54% of Americans disapproved of U.S. military actions in Iran, and nearly two-thirds disapproved of Trump’s handling of the war. And as inflation remains stubbornly high, driven by high energy costs stemming from fighting in the Middle East, 80% said the attack on Iran had increased gasoline and grocery prices.

“People are very, very concerned with the high price of gasoline, high price of diesel, high price of fertilizer, and I think they attribute that to the war,” said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky).

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who is locked in a fierce reelection battle against Democrat Troy Jackson, said she’s heard “a lot of concern” about the Strait of Hormuz and its impact on gas and diesel prices. Sen. Josh Hawley echoed those concerns, saying Missourians tended not to discuss Iran directly but repeatedly complained about rising costs.

“The conflict needs to come to a resolution,” Hawley said.

Those concerns now follow senators into another potential vote on the war.

The administration told Congress in a July 10 letter that hostilities had resumed July 7, and it considered the renewed fighting as the start of another 60-day period under the War Powers Resolution. That period has expired, and Congress still has not authorized the war.

The House passed its third Iran war powers resolution Tuesday, with seven Republicans joining Democrats, up from four in each of the previous two votes.

Tillis, who opposed the Senate’s last war powers push, said Tuesday that he plans to support the next resolution.

“It’s time to be clear on the strategic objectives and start measuring results,” Tillis said. “And that’s not something that we’ve had since they started the conflict.”

“You just can’t have some throwaway statement saying it’s going to end just after the election,” he added. “The American people are smarter than that.”]]> CBO Warns the Iran War Is Driving Up Inflation https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/cbo-iran-war-cost Joe Gould, Kadia Goba A report from Congress’ nonpartisan economic analysis arm says the fighting has cost nearly $40 billion and spurred higher prices. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 18:11:12 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/cbo-iran-war-cost A plume of smoke rises after a strike in Tehran.
The war with Iran was launched by the U.S. and Israel in February and intended to last a few weeks. (Mohsen Ganji/AP)
President Donald Trump’s war with Iran has cost the United States nearly $40 billion, consumed as much as two-thirds of some critical U.S. missile interceptors and is expected to push inflation higher into next year, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The CBO on Tuesday released its first projections for the war — launched by the U.S. and Israel in February and intended to last a few weeks — finding that the conflict had directly cost the U.S. $38.1 billion through Aug. 1 and will continue to cost roughly $2 billion to $3 billion each month. Those costs could rise during periods of heavier fighting.

More than half of the cost so far — $21.7 billion — comes from replacing munitions, including $13.1 billion worth of missile-defense interceptors. The CBO estimates the U.S. has used between half and two-thirds of its inventory of Patriot, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, Standard Missile-3 and Standard Missile-6 interceptors since June 2025.

The CBO said that leaves the U.S. with fewer munitions available for a potential conflict, including one involving China and Taiwan, and that rebuilding those stockpiles could take five years or longer.

The estimate comes a day after the Pentagon inspector general’s office released its first assessment of the war, which also warned the fighting had created “strategic inventory shortfalls” and prompted the Pentagon’s weapons buying directorate to “streamline procurement processes and production lead times, and to stockpile critical materials, components, and selected munitions to respond rapidly to a contingency.”

U.S. Central Command told the inspector general that Iranian strikes had damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman and Jordan during the conflict. Dozens of U.S. aircraft have been destroyed or damaged during the operation, the inspector general also reported.

The CBO said its $38.1 billion estimate carries “considerable uncertainty” because the Pentagon did not respond to the agency’s requests for information, forcing it to rely instead on government databases and public reports. The Pentagon’s lack of cooperation also prevented the CBO from estimating the cost of repairing or rebuilding damaged U.S. bases.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump have denied reports of munitions shortages. Trump said in a Monday social media post that the U.S. is producing and delivering weapons at record levels, two weeks after claiming the country had “virtually unlimited” amounts of munitions.

Beyond the cost of the military operations, the CBO expects the war to add roughly half a percentage point to inflation in the first quarter of 2027, driven largely by higher energy prices caused by supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

The higher inflation is also pushing up borrowing costs, the CBO found. The agency estimates the war has raised short-term interest rates by roughly 0.2 percentage points compared with its prewar forecast and expects the short- and long-term rates to remain elevated.

On Monday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note nudged past 5%, its highest level since 2007. Economists fear higher interest rates could lead to slower economic growth, less business investment and wage growth, and higher mortgage rates that paralyze the housing market — as well as higher interest rates for the federal government.

The CBO’s findings put an authoritative congressional estimate on the mounting costs of the conflict, which is now more than six months old. Although the CBO is Congress’ nonpartisan budget and economic analysis arm, the report was requested by congressional Democrats and lands just weeks before November’s midterm elections, as Democrats are attacking their opponents over rising gas prices and other economic shocks from the war.

While the global economy has resisted the most dire projections, costs have risen for consumers and businesses. After recent attacks on oil facilities and ships, oil prices surged — the price of a barrel rose past $100 this month — adding to the cost of everything from producing and transporting food, medicines and household goods to daily commutes and air travel.

The CBO expects oil prices to be 41% higher this year than it had forecast before the war began in February.

The White House pushed back on some of the CBO’s findings.

“President Trump took decisive action to ensure that Iran could never harm our homeland, our troops, or our allies again,” Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement. “The United States military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of the commander-in-chief’s strategic goals and beyond.”

The Pentagon echoed the sentiment, saying in a statement that “claims of U.S. munition shortages are false.”“We have everything required to strike at the time and place of the President’s choosing,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in the statement. “Across multiple combatant commands, we have already executed successful operations while maintaining a deep, ready arsenal to defend our people and our interests.”

Trump has disputed that the Iran war is chiefly responsible for the surge in diesel prices, instead saying in a social media post Monday, “The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran.”

Claudia Sahm, the chief economist at New Century Advisors, said that higher diesel, shipping and other energy costs are spreading throughout businesses' supply chains, but it can take about a year for those costs to work their way through the economy. Businesses can absorb some of those costs for a while, but over time, they face greater pressure to pass them along to consumers, she said.

“It's not a matter of whether energy is creating cost in the economy or not. It's just who's going to be the one at the end that really foots the bill,” Sahm said.

Jessica Riedl, an economist with the Brookings Institution, said ahead of the report that she expected the CBO to project slower growth, higher inflation and higher interest rates. If energy prices continue to keep inflation elevated, borrowing costs could stay high, making it harder for businesses to invest, families to buy homes and the federal government to finance its debt.

All that could have consequences on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers are debating billions of dollars in additional defense and domestic spending, Riedl said. A warning about the economy could slow momentum for any proposals that would add to federal deficits, including plans to boost the Pentagon budget and Trump’s proposal to pay every American adult $5,000.

Hegseth, under questioning from lawmakers last month, said the latest estimate of the cost of the Iran war was $37.5 billion — an $8.5 billion increase from the number he gave in May, just before Trump negotiated a temporary ceasefire with Iran.
The Trump administration is requesting as much as $70 billion in emergency military spending to cover the cost of the war and more, as part of a near-$90 billion supplemental spending package.

The CBO noted that only $42.3 billion of the Pentagon’s portion of the emergency spending request appears directly related to the war. The administration also included $12.1 billion in classified programs, which is large compared with similar requests during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the report noted.

In July, House Republicans rammed through a budget resolution with $73 billion for the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, largely for the Iran war. It’s stalled in the Senate, which lacks the votes to pass the measure.

“My guess is that a difficult CBO report would probably give more members cold feet when it comes to policies that increase deficits,” Riedl said. “Both the 40% defense hike and the tax rebates both face a pretty uphill battle on the Hill even before the CBO fires a warning shot about a weakening global economy.”]]> U.S. Military Says It Destroyed Two Small Iranian Boats https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/us-military-iranian-boats Associated Press A CENTCOM spokesperson said the boats "attempted to take possession of a U.S. unmanned surface vessel." Tue, 15 Sep 2026 17:23:15 GMT https://www.washingtonsun.com/defense/us-military-iranian-boats AP25344584108488
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
By Konstantin Toropin

The U.S. military said Tuesday that it opened fire and destroyed two small Iranian boats this week trying to steal a drone ship in the waters off Iran.

Capt. Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command spokesman said that “Iranian small boats recently attempted to take possession of a U.S. unmanned surface vessel, but they were unsuccessful after CENTCOM forcefully responded."

Iranian state media reported Monday that a pair of fishing boats came under attack in Hormozgan province on Iran’s southern coast and that several fishermen were reported missing, citing a provincial official.

It is the latest volley of fire in the more than six-month-old war as both sides seek control over the Strait of Hormuz, where the U.S. has succeeded in recent weeks in loosening Iran’s grip over the critical energy shipping corridor. But the impact of the unpopular conflict has driven up the cost of oil and gasoline prices, posing political problems for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.

Hawkins said Tuesday that the drone involved is a “Saildrone” — a small, roughly 25-foot (8-meter) craft — that can operate by itself. U.S. Central Command has been using them in the region for several years to surveil maritime traffic.

Hawkins said all of the command’s surface drones “remain fully accounted for.” The military has long asserted that the technology on the Saildrones is commercially available and not sensitive in nature.

The latest drone incident, which was reported earlier by Axios, comes a week after Iranian state television reported that the country's navy captured one of the U.S. military’s underwater drones at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz.

Hawkins said then that an Anduril Dive-LD drone had malfunctioned while it was surveying the waters in the region and that the U.S. military no longer had possession of it. He stressed that the drone was defective and noted that it was also an “older model that neither collected sensitive data no carried any classified sonar or radar equipment.”]]>