Trump hails Pakistan's 'great mediation' role
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States was not reconsidering Pakistan's role as a mediator in the ongoing negotiations with Iran and insisted that Washington did not need Beijing's help in dealing with Tehran.
Trump spoke to reporters before departing for Beijing ahead of a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as the Pentagon informed Congress that the cost of the war with Iran had climbed to nearly $29 billion.
Trump is travelling to China as Washington increasingly looks to Beijing to pressure Tehran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz. He said he intended to hold a "long talk" with the Chinese leader while maintaining that Washington did not require China's assistance in dealing with Iran.
"We have Iran very much under control. We're either going to make a deal or they are going to be decimated," Trump told reporters. "We're going to see what happens. We're only making a good deal," he added.
He reiterated that the United States would prevail "peacefully or otherwise". "I believe that one way or the other, it's going to be very good for the American people and, actually, very good for the Iranian people," he said.
When asked whether the US was reconsidering Pakistan's role as a mediator, Trump replied: "No, they're great. I think the Pakistanis have been great. The field marshal and the prime minister of Pakistan have been absolutely great."
At home, Trump has come under growing political pressure as US lawmakers questioned the financial burden of the conflict, its strategic direction and its impact on American military readiness.
On Capitol Hill, lawmakers held a tense hearing on the administration's proposed $1.5 trillion defence budget for 2027, where they were informed that the war's cost had increased by nearly $4 billion from the Pentagon's previous estimate disclosed only two weeks ago.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine and Pentagon finance chief Jules Hurst III told lawmakers that the revised estimate reflected updated repair and replacement costs for military equipment, as well as broader operational expenditures linked to the conflict.
"At the time of [previous] testimony, it was $25 billion, but now we think it's closer to 29," Hurst said during the hearing.
The war began after coordinated US and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28 and has since evolved into a prolonged regional confrontation centred on control of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical energy shipping lanes.
Despite a ceasefire that has largely halted full-scale hostilities for more than a month, tensions remain high. Trump warned on Monday that the truce was on "life support" after rejecting Tehran's latest peace proposal, raising fears of renewed fighting across the region.
Iranian negotiators responded defiantly on Tuesday, insisting Washington must accept Tehran's 14-point peace framework or face continued failure. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the United States had no alternative but to recognise the "rights of the Iranian people".
Iran's latest proposal reportedly called for an end to hostilities across the region, the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and the release of Iranian assets frozen under sanctions.
Iran has sought to charge tolls on vessels using the waterway as part of its wartime leverage, while maintaining restrictions on maritime traffic that have rattled global energy markets and driven oil prices sharply higher. China has meanwhile called for "normal and safe passage" through the strategic shipping corridor.
Meanwhile, Democrats on Capitol Hill intensified criticism of the Trump administration, accusing the White House of failing to provide transparency regarding both the true financial cost of the war and its long-term objectives.
Senior Democratic lawmaker Rosa DeLauro questioned what the United States had achieved through months of conflict, while Representative Betty McCollum accused the Pentagon of a "consistent lack of transparency".
Questions also mounted over the depletion of American weapons stockpiles following months of sustained missile strikes and air defence operations in the Middle East.
Hegseth dismissed concerns that the war had dangerously drained US military inventories, insisting the Pentagon maintained sufficient supplies. "We know exactly what we have. We have plenty of what we need," he told lawmakers.
However, Democratic Senator Mark Kelly warned that inventories of Tomahawk cruise missiles, Patriot interceptors and other advanced weapons systems had been severely depleted and could take years to replenish.
Meanwhile, the continuing uncertainty has deepened anxiety among civilians across Iran. State media reported that the Revolutionary Guards had conducted military drills in Tehran aimed at improving combat readiness against the "American-Zionist enemy".