President Donald Trump dispelled rumors that the United States was going to attack the Houthis in Yemen, saying they’d agreed not to fight the U.S., as he weighs whether to resume intensive operations against Iran. Rumors swirled on Saturday night that Trump was eyeing strikes against the Houthis, with some reports pointing to this as […]
Page A3From§Eachthe supper edition — 20 September 2026
THE INVOICE
Adviser says the president 'had to act' the same week the war's own invoice nears $40 billion.
As it ran on the front
The war entered its seventh month this week. On August 28, Common Dreams reported it had lasted six months with "no end in sight." By September 4, diesel hit $5.85 a gallon, a record the wire tied directly to the war's disruption of energy markets. Republicans noticed; by September 5, Axios reported the party fretting that internal polling already showed voters blamed them for the price. By September 9, the president admitted on the record that the war would not end before the midterms — the same week Iranian officials said U.S. bombing and blockade had left the country short on roughly 800 medicines. By September 10, Defense Secretary Hegseth was on camera describing "devastation" to Iran's capabilities, present tense. By September 11, diesel crossed $6 a gallon for the first time in the country's history. By September 15, the Congressional Budget Office put a figure on it: nearly $40 billion, a number the CBO itself called conservative. By September 17, the president said he had "a big decision coming up" — whether to "annihilate" the Iranian regime. By then, a United Nations inquiry had already found the strikes he was weighing whether to repeat likely met the legal definition of war crimes; the administration did not contest the finding so much as decline to mention it.
Then Sunday arrived, and with it Kevin Hassett, the National Economic Council director, sent out to close the file. "The president had to act," Hassett told The Hill — five words, delivered as verdict, the war recast as a thing already decided, a chapter closed by a man whose job is the economy, not the war. He explained why: Iran, he said, had told the United States it no longer needed to talk, because it was two weeks from having — and there the sentence trails off in the wire, the number offered and never finished.…
…(cont) Nobody told the president the file was closed. That same Sunday, speaking with Fox's Trey Yingst, Trump said he is "in a deciding mode" on Iran, weighing three options — "wiping Iran out, letting them rot economically, or making a deal" — and adding a fourth in his own words: "My question is, if and when do I blow the entire nation up, they better behave." Hassett's past tense and Trump's open question describe the same war, in the same paper, on the same day.
That day, The Hill also reported the diesel average had jumped 42 cents in a week — "largely as a result," the wire said, "of the ongoing U.S. war in Iran" — 45 days before an election Republicans already know how to lose.
“They keep telling you somebody 'had to' do something, and the invoice shows up like it fell out of the sky. Forty billion dollars in, diesel's over six bucks a gallon, and the guy who ordered it still can't tell you if he's done ordering it. That's not a war plan, that's a slot machine running on your fuel bill.”
“The president had to act, full stop, that's decisive leadership, and anybody tying that to diesel prices is reaching — I mean, energy markets are complicated, it's not like there's a — okay, there is literally a Congressional Budget Office number, but that's a conservative estimate, which sounds like a compliment. Did I just call our own cost overrun a compliment? That doesn't sound like me.”
Earlier in this story
The receipts
A recently published economic analysis estimates that President Donald Trump’s illegal war with Iran has cost US consumers an average of $1,760 per household—including a total of $121 billion in extra spending on energy alone—since the conflict began less than 8 months ago. The war, which Trump launched without congressional…
Ambassador Mike Waltz says President Trump will push Gulf leaders and allies to enforce Iran sanctions at the United Nations, warning of consequences for noncompliance.
This amounts to more than 80 trades per market day for the president in his first 17 months back in office.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Tillis supports Hegseth impeachment resolution: 'He needs to go'Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who voted to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is renewing his call for President Trump to fire the Pentagon chief after Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned. “He needs to go, whether it’s impeachment or the most expedient route — just the president to replace him — would be great,”
The fossil fuel industry is raking in big profits thanks to President Donald Trump's illegal war with Iran, and a new analysis finds that it's plugging a sizable chunk of these gains into propaganda. A report published by Clean Creatives on Wednesday reveals that fossil fuel firms across the world have "engaged 802 advertising and PR…
Matt Bell has been farming in North Carolina for more than half his life. He voted for President Trump but said farmers are "fighting for survival" as they combat rising prices.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced Thursday that four Republicans, including him, have signed the Epstein Files II discharge petition and expressed confidence it will pass the House. The news comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) sent lawmakers home for a seven-week recess ahead of the midterm elections.
A UN fact-finding mission has reported that two US airstrikes which killed at least 178 civilians in Iran constitute war crimes. Plus: Andy Burnham says he is “determined” to hit net zero by 2050, Sweden’s left-of-centre coalition wins the general election, Netanyahu is pushing to strip IDF critics of their citizenship, and the…
The US targeted “clearly identifiable” civilian sites in Minab and Lamerd, killing over 100 children, the UN found.
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Senate Democrats, minus Fetterman, urge Hegseth to provide receipt for Iran war costsAll of the Democrats in the Senate — excluding Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman — signed an open letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, pressing him to give Congress a cost breakdown of the war in Iran. The letter, although largely symbolic, reflects the frustration of many Democrats in Congress over what they perceive as a...
Matt Bell said he initially supported Trump's policies but now feels he and other farmers were "sold a bill of goods" that there was a plan to "put America's farmers and ranchers first."
The Pentagon has failed its audit eight years running - the only major federal agency never to pass one Military Times, 19 December 2025
Pentagon No. 3 frustrates senators in closed-door briefing on Iran war, Trump defense strategyDemocratic and Republican lawmakers alike emerged Thursday from a closed-door briefing frustrated by what they said was a lack of clear answers from Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby on the Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy and the ongoing Iran war. The briefing with the Senate Armed Services Committee started off…
US House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday that with seven weeks to go until Election Day, it was time for lawmakers to "go home to their districts and make the case to the American people"—a day earlier than scheduled. But with the US public overwhelmingly disapproving of President Donald Trump's war in Iran and demanding…
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Sunday defended President Trump's handling of the Iran war and said the president "had to act," suggesting that otherwise the outcome could have been dire. "The whole thing started because the Iranians told us we don't have to talk to you anymore, because we're two weeks from having...
Three days after saying that he's weighing whether or not to “annihilate” Iran in a bid to end his increasingly unpopular and protracted war against the Middle Eastern nation, US President Donald Trump on Sunday again said that he is deciding if he should destroy the entire country of over 90 million people. Fox News chief foreign…
President Trump on Sunday speculated on the future of the Iran war, asking "if and when do I blow the entire nation up?" Fox News's Trey Yingst reported that Trump is in a "deciding mode" and "that very big things are going to be happening in the not-so-distant future." "The president described the current choices...
Trump’s warning comes as the US-Iran conflict enters its seventh month.
Rising diesel prices are proving to be a particular problem for Republicans as surging energy costs sour the economic mood just 45 days out from the midterms. The national average for diesel jumped 42 cents over the last week, largely as a result of the ongoing U.S. war in Iran, though President Trump has sought...
The Republican lawmaker cited incidents like the US’s elementary school massacre in Minab, Iran, early in the war.
U.N.-commissioned rights experts say there are "reasonable grounds" to believe the U.S. committed war crimes with strikes that killed scores of Iranian civilians.
Iran reiterated that they will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the agreement terms are met.
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is weighing whether or not to "annihilate" Iran in a renewed effort to end the illegal 201-day US-Israeli war of choice, musings that came on the heels of a report by United Nations experts who said the United States likely committed war crimes during earlier attacks on the Middle East nation.…
· Trump says he has a ‘big decision coming up’ on Iran from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· 'A Serious and Alarming Threat': US Bombing, Blockade Deepen Iran Medical Crisis from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· 'Trump Did It!': At $5.85 a Gallon, Diesel Price Hits All-Time High in US Thanks to War on Iran from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· Inflation Could Soon ‘Get a Lot More Painful’ as Trump’s Iran War Drives Diesel Over $6 a Gallon from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· 'Can't Message That Away': GOP Frets as Trump Administration Desperately Spins Record-High Diesel Prices from the morgue, 5 Sep 2026
· Diesel prices reach all-time high of $6 from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· Hegseth on "devastation" to Iran's capabilities from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· Trump admits Iran war will not end before midterms from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Iran War Trump Said Would Be Quick Has Now Lasted 6 Months With 'No End In Sight' from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
· CBO Finds Trump's Iran War Has Already Cost Nearly $40 Billion—And That's a 'Conservative' Estimate from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Massie Files Impeachment Articles Against Hegseth for Illegal Iran War, Boat Murders from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Massie launches effort to impeach Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Tillis urges Trump to fire Hegseth over 'inept management' of military from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Tillis renews calls for Hegseth’s firing after Driscoll’s departure: ‘I have never witnessed more inept management’ from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Massie names Epstein 'coconspirators,' discusses new Epstein files legislation from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· Read Thomas Massie’s eight impeachment charges against Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Fake Republican midterm convention site still redirects to Epstein files from the morgue, 7 Sep 2026
· Trump says he has a ‘big decision’ coming up on Iran: ‘Do I want to go in and annihilate them’ from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Fox News Poll: 71% think Trump administration lacks plan to end Iran war from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Iran recently downed at least 2 American drones, officials say from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Big Oil Stocks Surged Due to Iran War—and New Filings Show How President Trump Cashed In from the morgue, 27 Aug 2026
· Live updates: Energy secretary downplays rising gas prices as US, Iran trade strikes from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· U.S. Strike on Iranian School May Have Been War Crime, U.N. Report Says from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· UN investigators conclude ‘reasonable grounds’ to believe certain US strikes in Iran were war crimes from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· US Condemned for 'War Crimes' After Bombing of Wedding Party in Iran from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· US investigating if missile hit Iranian wedding ceremony, killing 4 from the morgue, 4 Sep 2026
· White House issues explosive response to UN-backed report claiming US committed war crimes against world’s No.1 sponsor of terror, Iran from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Human rights experts: 'Reasonable grounds' to believe US committed war crimes with Iran strikes from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Iran downed at least 2 American drones in recent days, U.S. officials say from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Iran: Account of US Air Force colonel's rescue 'fictional' from the morgue, 17 Sep 2026
· Consumer Burden of Trump Iran War Exceeds $100 Billion as Oil Prices Pass $100 a Barrel from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Consumer Confidence Hits Lowest Level in Months as US Faces 'Trump's Reckless Tariffs and War With Iran' from the morgue, 25 Aug 2026
· U.S. Air Force officer rescued from Iran speaks for the first time to 60 Minutes from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· Rep. Thomas Massie forcing vote on Pete Hegseth's impeachment from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Massie saying Johnson is sending the House home early to prevent Hegseth impeachment from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· ‘You’re Elected to Fight and Kill the Other Side’: How Congress Lost Its Way from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· Army combat veteran challenging Mike Lawler calls Hegseth national security 'hazard,' backs impeachment from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· Former Air Force secretary says he 'couldn't serve' in Trump administration from the morgue, 6 Sep 2026
· Former Air Force secretary: Hegseth's Pentagon 'dysfunctional' from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· House Republicans split over leaving Washington early for campaign trail from the morgue, 1 Sep 2026
· 'How are we gonna get through this?' Many Americans are struggling as prices rise from the morgue, 16 Sep 2026
· Trump's Top Oil Stocks Have Made Him Up to $4.4 Million Richer During Iran War: Analysis from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Gas prices reach Labor Day high amid Iran war from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· Trump Hammered Over Iran War That Drove Gas Prices Above $4 Per Gallon Every Day in August for First Time Ever from the morgue, 31 Aug 2026
· Warsh under pressure as Fed weighs rate hike from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Inflation held at 3.4% in August in consumer price index, creating tough choice for Warsh Fed from the morgue, 11 Sep 2026
· Warsh indicates Fed could raise rates to cool inflation from the morgue, 28 Aug 2026
· Key U.S. Bond Rate Near 20-Year High as Oil Prices Keep Climbing from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· 10-year Treasury yield hits highest level since 2007, oil surges above $105 as Fed expected to hike interest rates from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Benchmark mortgage rate hits 14-month high as bond yields keep rising from the morgue, 10 Sep 2026
· Benchmark mortgage rate hits highest mark in over a year from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Goldman Sachs warns oil prices could hit $120 as U.S. fuel costs surge from the morgue, 8 Sep 2026
· GOP Rep Thomas Massie introduces 8 articles of impeachment against War Secretary Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Republican Rep. Massie moves to impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth over Iran war from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Thomas Massie Forces Vote To Impeach Pete Hegseth from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· Pete Hegseth Faces Growing Criticism as War With Iran Rolls On from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Hegseth Quietly Extends Middle East Troop Deployments Into 2027 as Iran War Drags On from the morgue, 3 Sep 2026
· Costco imposes purchase limits on motor oil, hikes prices by nearly double from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· As gas averages $4.31 nationwide, diesel fuel hits all-time high: "It's painful. It's real hard" from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· Costco Raises Motor Oil Price, Caps Customer Purchases As Iran War Drags On from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· European Union member states agree to a natural gas price cap in an attempt to limit economic damage from the global energy crisis. The price cap can be triggered beginning on February 15, if for thre from the morgue, 19 Dec 2022
· Spike on 10-year bond yields renews concerns over U.S. debt from the morgue, 15 Sep 2026
· 10-Year Treasury Yield Reaches 5%, Highest Level in Years from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· Treasury reveals $6B in debt buybacks, triple the normal level – but markets slump from the morgue, 9 Sep 2026
· Trump blames rise in diesel prices on Ukrainian strikes against Russian oil refineries from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· Trump blames rising diesel price on Russia-Ukraine war from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
· What Is Driving Diesel Prices Up? Energy Chaos Caused by Two Wars. from the morgue, 14 Sep 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.