The Pentagon said Tuesday the cost of the war with Iran had climbed to nearly $29 billion, as President Donald Trump faced mounting scrutiny over the conflict and its impact on US military readiness.

The figure, revealed during a budget hearing on Capitol Hill, is about $4 billion higher than the department's previous estimate given two weeks ago.

Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine and Pentagon finance chief Jules Hurst III were asked about the war's price tag during testimony on the administration's $1.5 trillion 2027 defense budget request.

Iran's leadership is betting it can outlast an under-pressure Donald Trump in its peace negotiations with Washington, but its defiance risks renewed military confrontation and further stoking domestic tensions, analysts say.

With a shaky ceasefire holding almost two-and-a-half months after the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic began, the US president has angrily dismissed Iran's responses to a US proposal for a settlement, warning the truce is on its last legs.

WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - The United States' war in Iran has ​cost $29 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said on Tuesday, an increase of $4 billion from an estimate provided late last month.

Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of the ​comptroller, told lawmakers that the cost included updated repair and replacement of equipment and operational costs.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

GENEVA, May 12 (Reuters) - Seventy children have been killed in the occupied Palestinian territories excluding Gaza since early 2025, amounting to around one a week, while over 800 have been injured, the U.N. children's agency said on Tuesday.

Most of those killed or injured in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were hit by live ammunition but others were stabbed, beaten or pepper-sprayed, UNICEF said.

By Francois Murphy

VIENNA, May 12 (Reuters) - The Eurovision Song Contest gets off to a tense start in Vienna on Tuesday with a protest due to be held hours before the first semi-final featuring Israel, whose attendance prompted five countries to boycott over the Gaza war.

The contest, traditionally a good-natured celebration of pop music and high camp now in its 70th year, has become mired in crisis over Israel's military offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023.

Iran's chief negotiator said Tuesday that Washington must accept Tehran's latest peace plan or face failure, after US President Donald Trump warned the truce in the Middle East war was on the brink of collapse.

The war, which erupted more than two months ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread throughout the Middle East and roiled the global economy despite the ceasefire, impacting hundreds of millions worldwide.

Both sides have refused to make concessions and repeatedly threatened to resume fighting, but neither appears willing to return to all-out war.

DUBAI, May 12 (Reuters) - Iran has expanded its definition of the Strait of Hormuz into a "vast operational area" far wider than before the Iran war, according to a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy.

The strait is no longer viewed as a narrow stretch around a handful of islands but instead has been greatly enlarged in scope and military significance, said Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political director of the IRGC Navy, the state-affiliated Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.

By Maya Gebeily, Maayan Lubell and Catherine Cartier

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM, May 12 (Reuters) - While Washington and Tehran argue over a deal to end the attacks on shipping that are shaking the world economy, Iran's most powerful ally Hezbollah and Israel are stepping up a drone war in Lebanon - on camera - that is complicating the path to peace.

By Saud Mehsud

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan, May 12 (Reuters) - A massive blast at a crowded market in northwestern Pakistan killed nine people and wounded dozens more on Tuesday, the emergency services agency said, as the latest attack in the region threatens to reignite fighting with neighbouring Afghanistan.

The bomb blast at the crowded Naurang Bazar caused panic on the streets, as people rushed to help the wounded and emergency vehicles raced to the site.Visuals from the scene showed damaged shopfronts and a mangled vehicle.

Favourites Finland made it through the first Eurovision semi-final on Tuesday alongside Israel, whose participation saw five countries boycott the world's biggest live televised music event.

With blasts of dry ice and jets of flame, the Eurovision party got started inside the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, where 11,200 revved-up fans saw 15 acts battle for 10 places in Saturday's grand final.

Belgium upset the odds to make it through, with Croatia, Greece, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Serbia and Sweden also progressing.