HUMAN rights experts commissioned by the human rights body of the United Nations say they have found “reasonable grounds” to believe the US committed war crimes in two strikes in Iran, including on a school in the southern city of Minab. The international fact-finding mission on Iran says the findings centre on a pair of air strikes that…
Page B1From§Eachthe breakfast edition — 22 September 2026
THE COST
Hegseth calls it devastation to Iran's capabilities; U.N. experts count a school, a sports complex, 120 children
As it ran on the front
Accountability for how this war is fought died this week, at the age of one finding. The cause was arithmetic.
It was born as a promise that the thing would be quick. By August 28 the war was six months old with no end in sight, which is a phrase you use about weather, not policy. On September 9 the President admitted the war would not end before the midterms, delivered as a scheduling note. On the 10th the defense secretary went on camera to describe the devastation to Iran's capabilities. On the 15th the Congressional Budget Office put the bill at nearly $40 billion and called its own number conservative, which is budget-office for: more. That is no penny-ante sum. That is a figure they cannot find for anything else.…
…(cont) Then, on the 17th, the United Nations fact-finding mission on Iran said it had reasonable grounds to believe the United States committed war crimes in two airstrikes: the Shajareh Tayyebeh School in Minab, and a sports complex and residential area. At least 178 civilians. One hundred twenty of them children, according to Iranian authorities. The same mission found Iran's own government carried out crimes against humanity against its own citizens during the crackdown on protesters earlier this year, so nobody gets to file the whole document under bunk from a partisan outfit. The findings are set to go before the Human Rights Council. CBS carried them again this week.
Here is the part where a system is supposed to catch.
A senator who voted to confirm the defense secretary called for his firing for the second time this month. Senators came out of a Pentagon briefing frustrated. Senate Democrats demanded a full accounting of what the war has cost. A quick war now six months old, at forty billion dollars and climbing, with a school in the findings, is a shit hand dealt to everyone who did not deal it.
Accountability is survived by the households of Minab and Lamerd, who did not need a mission to tell them what fell; by every taxpayer carrying forty billion dollars of it; and by the frustrated senators, who have a vote and a subpoena power and used neither this week.
It was preceded in death by the promise of a short war, and by the old notion that confirming a man makes you answerable for him. That second one went quietly, in the same week, and no one has claimed the body.
In lieu of flowers: put it to your own member of Congress in writing — what did the two strikes hit, and what has the whole thing cost — and keep whatever comes back, or the silence, until November.
“Six months, forty billion dollars, and the budget office says that number is low — and the thing that finally shows up in writing is a fact-finding mission counting 178 dead civilians at a school and a sports complex. The defense secretary went on television and called it devastation to Iran's capabilities; a senator who voted to put him there has now asked twice this month for him to be fired, and nothing happened either time. They told you the war would be quick and they told you there's no money for anything here — one of those was settled on the 15th, and it wasn't the one about your kid's school.”
“Look, "reasonable grounds" is not a finding, it's a phrase, and the same mission said Iran committed crimes against humanity against its own people, so let's keep the context — did I say context? That doesn't sound like me. And the forty billion is an estimate, the budget office says so itself, they call it conservative, which means they're not even sure, which is my point, which is that nobody knows, and the President was very clear the war won't be over before the midterms, so you can't say there's no plan.”
Earlier in this story
- Hegseth, demanded fired twice this month and facing impeachment paperwork, will chair the Pentagon's first homeland defense board By Mort · the late evening edition, 21 September 2026
- Rogers's ad asking for an end to the Iran war he spent 20 years demanding runs 75 seconds By Lou · the late evening edition, 21 September 2026
- Rogers spent two decades demanding war with Iran, now films a grocery-store ad calling for it to end By Lou · the early evening edition, 21 September 2026
- Farmers pay record $6.50 diesel and milk tariffs, the latest invoice on a war Pentagon still can't total. By Mort · the late evening edition, 20 September 2026
- Republican senator begs Trump for a 1970s-style embargo to lower diesel prices the war he defends caused. By Chip · the late evening edition, 20 September 2026
- Adviser says the president 'had to act' the same week the war's own invoice nears $40 billion. By Chip · the supper edition, 20 September 2026
The receipts
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…
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.…
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…
The US targeted “clearly identifiable” civilian sites in Minab and Lamerd, killing over 100 children, the UN found.
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…
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…
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.
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...
The Republican lawmaker cited incidents like the US’s elementary school massacre in Minab, Iran, early in the war.
This amounts to more than 80 trades per market day for the president in his first 17 months back in office.
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.
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,”
Human rights experts who led a United Nations fact-finding mission in Iran are set to submit their findings to the UN Human Rights Council that the United States likely committed war crimes in the early days of the US-Israeli war there. The experts examined evidence regarding two airstrikes that killed at least 178 civilians, including…
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.
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…
· Human rights experts: 'Reasonable grounds' to believe US committed war crimes with Iran strikes from the morgue, 17 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
· Trump says he has a ‘big decision coming up’ on Iran from the morgue, 17 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
· 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
· 'A Serious and Alarming Threat': US Bombing, Blockade Deepen Iran Medical Crisis 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
· '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
· 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
· 'Can't Message That Away': GOP Frets as Trump Administration Desperately Spins Record-High Diesel Prices from the morgue, 5 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.