Trump warns Iran not ready as war costs top $37.5 billion

President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran "wants to do something" but is "not ready yet," the latest signal from a White House that has spent $37.5 billion on a five-month war with no clear exit strategy and mounting domestic opposition.

"Iran wants to do something, but they haven't received enough pain yet," Trump told Axios, according to a transcript of the interview published Thursday. The president also said he is "considering a massive attack" on Iran that would be "bigger than ever before."

The remarks came as the US-Iran conflict entered its 146th day, with the Pentagon confirming 18 American service members killed and roughly 500 injured since the war began Feb. 28. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told Congress this week that Iran is "at its weakest point militarily in 47 years" while simultaneously requesting an additional $67 billion in emergency defense funding on top of the $37.5 billion already spent.

The war has reshaped global energy markets. Brent crude surged past $100 a barrel Thursday for the first time since May after Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea and declared a blockade of Saudi ports. The Strait of Hormuz, which handles about 21 percent of global oil trade, remains effectively shut. US gasoline prices have climbed back to $4 a gallon, according to AAA data, a politically sensitive threshold ahead of November's midterm elections.

Escalation Across the Gulf

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps struck US military assets in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain on Thursday, hitting a telecommunications tower in Kuwait in what it described as retaliation for US attacks on Iranian infrastructure. Kuwait confirmed its Abdali border crossing with Iraq also came under attack by "hostile drones." Jordan said its air defenses downed three Iranian missiles and six drones over the previous 24 hours, with one missile landing in an uninhabited area.

The attacks followed the 12th consecutive night of US airstrikes on Iran, which have targeted bridges, tunnels and military infrastructure, according to Iranian state media. The IRGC also threatened the Fairford Air Base in England, calling it a "legitimate target" after the US used B1 bombers operating from the base.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the Security Council on Thursday that the situation is "teetering on the edge of the unimaginable," adding that "one crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next."

Domestic Pushback Intensifies

The House of Representatives adopted a resolution to curb Trump's Iran war powers by a vote of 214 to 208 on Thursday, with four Republicans joining all Democrats present. While the concurrent resolution is symbolic and carries no legal force, it marks the fifth time Democrats have brought such a measure to the floor and signals growing unease within the president's own party.

A Washington Post-Ipsos poll published this week found 69 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of the Iran conflict. Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters this week that "there needs to be an end to this war," a notable break from the administration's position.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at the ASEAN summit in Manila, said Iran is "going to pay a price" and described the administration's policy as "an eye for an eye." He denied reports that Russia is helping Iran target US bases, telling reporters there is "nothing that anyone's doing to help Iran" target Americans.

The last time the US engaged in a sustained Middle Eastern conflict of this scale was the 2003 Iraq War, which cost $2 trillion over two decades and resulted in 4,400 US deaths. The Iran conflict has already consumed $37.5 billion in five months, a burn rate that, if sustained, would approach $90 billion annually — roughly 15 percent of the current Pentagon base budget.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.