NPR News: 07-21-2026 4AM EDT

Giles Snyder· Host0:00

Live from NPR News, I'm Giles Snyder. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will ask the Senate Appropriations Committee today for three hundred fifty billion dollars to fund the Iran war. Hegseth will be on Capitol Hill as attacks between Iran and the US are escalating, as NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.

Quil Lawrence0:20

US forces have bombed Iranian military and infrastructure targets for ten days running and have reinstated a naval blockade on Iran's ports and coastline. Iranian media reports scores of casualties. Iran has attacked US bases around the region with missiles and drones, killing at least three US service members since Friday. This week, the Department of Defense divulged that at least one hundred US troops have been injured in the last two weeks, most of whom returned to service. The Pentagon hasn't briefed the press since May, and the hearing today will be the first chance for senators from both parties to ask Hegseth publicly about the depletion of US military munitions, safety of troops in the region, and how the US plans to resolve the war. Quil Lawrence, NPR News.

Giles Snyder· Host1:02

Iran's Revolutionary Guard claiming responsibility for an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and at least one other attack on a ship Monday. The British military's Maritime Trade Operations Center says the attack forced the crew to abandon ship. The latest Iranian attacks came as the US military said it had completed a tenth consecutive night of strikes on Iranian targets. New Orleans is getting ready for Tropical Storm Bertha.