Pete Hegseth heckled by furious Iran war protesters at Senate hearing | World | News
/news/us/2230422/iran-issues-chilling-zero-hourProtesters have vented their fury at US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at a crunch Senate hearing, with one shouting after just a few seconds: “Stop bombing our children in Iran and Palestine – this is illegal.” Senators are grilling Mr Hegseth over the US war against Iran, as Republicans push a $95billion (£71billion) budget package to fund the military, along with aid to farmers and voting law changes that are top White House priorities.
However, just a few seconds after he started giving evidence at the hearing, he was interrupted four times by hecklers. One could be heard shouting: “Stop bombing our children in Iran and Palestine – this is illegal.” Mr Hegseth had started by saying that “a dangerous world that requires bold and swift action”. He added the US defence department needs “an urgent, necessary injection of resources” to address its immediate needs. The dramatic scenes came as protesters also held up images of Iranian schoolchildren reportedly killed during the conflict.
Two of the children pictured are believed to have been among 156 people killed when a primary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab was bombed at the start of the war.
An official investigation into the incident and whether the US military was responsible has not yet been published.
Mr Hegseth later told senators that the war with Iran has so far cost Washington $37.5billion (£28billion), as the Trump administration seeks billions of dollars in additional defence funding.
Democratic Senator Patty Murray challenged the Defence Secretary over the request, telling him: “You are here today asking for tens of billions of dollars more for things that you’ve already asked for in your FY 2027 request, or that have nothing to do with Iran.”
She also accused Donald Trump of starting “a war of his own choosing” and claimed the US was now “considerably less safe” than before the conflict.
He said the country was militarily at its weakest point in a decade, but acknowledged there was “no doubt” Tehran still retained some military capabilities.
Democratic Senator Patty Murray questioned why the request included spending on policies not directly related to the Iran conflict.
She highlighted proposed funding including $800million for the National Guard to patrol Washington DC and $1billion for the army to patrol the southern border.
A further $900million was earmarked for strikes on boats in the Caribbean, according to Ms Murray.
She told Mr Hegseth: “The truth is your request does not make a lot of sense.”
Republican Senator Susan Collins, meanwhile, said Congress had a responsibility to ensure US troops had the tools, training and support needed to carry out their missions.
