Iran-US war latest: Trump threatens to attack nuclear site as Hegseth reveals staggering cost of war

Donald Trump has threatened to renew strikes on Iran's heavily fortified "Pickaxe Mountain" nuclear site, as the staggering human and financial toll of the five-month war between the US and Iran came into focus. Trump said the US would target the Pickaxe Mountain area, located ⁠near Iran's ​heavily ⁠damaged Natanz uranium ⁠enrichment facility, "pretty soon." The site – known in Iran as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La – hosts ‌two deeply buried ‌tunnel complexes that experts ⁠assess as beyond the reach of the most powerful bunker buster bombs in ‌the US arsenal. Appearing at the Senate on Tuesday, Trump's defence secretary Pete Hegseth unraveled over questions about the growing cost of the Trump administration’s war in Iran, estimating the financial toll has now reached $37.5bn. At the same time, he suggested Trump should be praised for starting the war. Hegseth is asking for another $67 billion from Congress to cover mounting costs for the war, among other demands. In terms of personnel costs, US officials say at least 18 American troops have died since the beginning of the war, and more than 400 others have been injured. Iran renews strikes on Jordan and Bahrain Iran’s military is claiming fresh strikes on US military targets in Jordan and Bahrain, per state media. Targets were identified in Jordan’s Al Azraq base and Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa air base. James Reynolds22 July 2026 08:03Mapped: Traffic still piled up outside Strait of Hormuz Traffic around the Strait of Hormuz was still subdued on Wednesday as clashes between the US and Iran continue to escalate. Ship tracking data from Marine Traffic shows limited movement around the Strait itself, which has been affected by spoofing and radio interference since the start of the conflict. Marine Traffic (Marine Traffic) James Reynolds22 July 2026 07:44Rubio discusses Iran war with Jaishankar ahead talks with Chinese diplomat Marco Rubio held talks with Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Asean meeting, discussing the Iran war as he is met counterparts of the Quad grouping. Rubio reaffirmed the commitment of Quad – the US, India, Australia and Japan – to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific. "We are united in our conviction that peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain underpin the security and prosperity of the region," the leaders said in a statement. Rubio added in a post on X that, "The Quad remains a priority, and we will meet again later this year." After his talks with Jaishankar, he said an interim US-India trade deal that Washington said is "almost complete." “The world is extremely turbulent, and it is increasingly evident that no single nation or even grouping can deal with it on its own," Jaishankar said. Rubio is also expected to meet Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the summit. Shweta Sharma22 July 2026 07:09Iran's demands over the Strait of Hormuz would set a dangerous precedent, Rubio tells Asean leaders US secretary of state Marco Rubio has warned that Iran's demand to control and levy tolls on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz would endanger the global economy and set a dangerous precedent for international waterways. Speaking at an Asean foreign ministers' meeting in Manila on Wednesday, Rubio said allowing a country to control an international shipping lane and attack vessels that refuse to pay would undermine the principle of freedom of navigation. "If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll and if you don't pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region," he said. Shweta Sharma22 July 2026 06:44Trump threatens to strike Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site Donald Trump has warned that the US military will hit Iran’s "Pickaxe Mountain" nuclear complex soon. Trump said the US military would be "hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily," referring to Pickaxe Mountain – known in Iran as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La – a fortified underground site near one of the country's main nuclear enrichment facilities. Pickaxe Mountain, about 220km south of Tehran and near the Natanz nuclear facility, is believed to house an underground complex buried nearly 100 metres inside the mountain. Little is known about the site, which experts say is still under construction, and is likely too deep to be reached by even the US's most advanced bunker buster missiles. According to the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), the facility was not targeted during the US-Israeli strikes in either the 2025 or 2026 conflicts. Shweta Sharma22 July 2026 06:22 Rachel Dobkin22 July 2026 06:00Hegseth's new estimate for the cost of the war: Nearly $38 billion Pete Hegseth’s latest estimate for the growing costs of the Iran war has now reached $37.5 billion. That’s likely a low-end estimate, according to analysts. Before the last week of attacks, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies estimated total costs to have reached between $34 billion and $42 billion. Other estimates place the true cost of the war at more than $100 billion. Shweta Sharma22 July 2026 05:58Trump warns Iran the US ‘has been nice’ so far in attacks as threat of full-blown war grows Donald Trump warned Iran that the US has been “nice” so far in its attacks against the Middle East nation as tensions continue to rise and the threat of full-blown war remains. Speaking in the Oval Office Tuesday alongside Lebanese president Joseph Aoun, Trump said Iran was once again being “decimated” and disclaimed any interest in new ceasefire negotiations after a wave of attacks on US bases and allies. But he cautioned the US could escalate attacks on Iran in ways that would leave the country’s infrastructure so devastated it could take “decades” for Tehran to rebuild as the renewed conflict heads into a third full week. “They want to desperately meet, and until they're ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest”, the US president said. “If we left today, it would take them decades to rebuild, and I don't believe they'd ever rebuild. And honestly, they haven't seen anything yet — we've been nice”. Read on... Andrew Feinberg22 July 2026 05:32Iran claims strikes in Kuwait and Amazon data centre in Bahrain Iran’s military claims it struck US military targets at Camp Doha in western Kuwait and Amazon’s central data infrastructure in Bahrain in Tuesday’s attacks. In a statement carried by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, the Iranian military said its forces destroyed “a US long-range radar site, a communications center, satellite receiving systems, a missile defense radar, and a MQ-9 drone hangar”. “The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran – with sacred unity – stand ready to decisively counter any new conspiracy and adventurism by the enemy,” the statement added, calling Camp Doha a major support hub for US personnel and equipment in the region. “An MQ-9 drone hangar was also hit at the Ali al-Salem base, and a number of drones were destroyed or completely damaged,” it added. It also said that it destroyed the central data infrastructure of the American company Amazon in Bahrain with several cruise missiles. It said the attack was in response to the US’s alleged attack on the "civilian facilities of Darkhovey" – an under-construction nuclear power plant in Iran. Shweta Sharma22 July 2026 05:20 Rachel Dobkin22 July 2026 05:04