Murphy Claims Pentagon Barred Al Udeid Visit to Hide Iran War Costs

Sen. Chris Murphy said the Pentagon denied his request to visit Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and refused to arrange a war briefing on his trip to Doha and Riyadh. He is the first Democratic lawmaker to visit the region since the Iran war began in late February. Al Udeid is the largest U.S. base in the region. He said Secretary of State Marco Rubio helped arrange meetings with Qatar's emir and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In Riyadh, Murphy told reporters there is "an active, unprecedented, unconstitutional effort underway to hide the costs of this war and the implications of this war from Congress and the American people." He said he has "never encountered anything like this" in the Senate and called it a "deliberate campaign of obfuscation." Before the trip he said Pete Hegseth was hiding war costs, damages, and American deaths. The war has lasted more than seven months at an estimated cost above $45 billion. The U.S. military places deaths at 19; The Washington Post reported at least 23. Murphy said he heard Houthi missile alerts both nights in Riyadh and toured the drone-damaged U.S. Embassy. The Pentagon did not immediately respond. No outlet disputes the denial account; a Pentagon reply is not in the record.