Democratic senator accuses Hegseth of hiding Iran war's true cost after embassy damage deemed far deadlier than reported

From the Newshound archive · first published 9 October 2026.

Senator Chris Murphy says the Saudi Arabia embassy strike was far more destructive than the public was told, warning that a daytime attack would have killed "many, many Americans." Murphy returned from visits to Qatar and Saudi Arabia to accuse Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth of being "determined to hide the cost and the consequences of this war from the American public." The Pentagon blocked Murphy from accessing a major US base in Qatar, though he saw enough to conclude the damage runs deep. Germany separately raised its GDP growth forecast, saying its economy had withstood the Iran war's energy shock.

Murphy said part of the Riyadh embassy is now "uninhabitable and will likely remain uninhabitable" after Iranian drone strikes in March.

The USS Abraham Lincoln docked in San Diego on Thursday after a record 265-day deployment scarred by food shortages, mental health crises and suicide attempts among crew.