Three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five others seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury, targeting Iran, U.S. Central Command said.
It was not immediately clear where the service members were stationed. Their identities have not been released pending notification of next of kin. They are the first U.S. casualties since the military launched its operation against Iran.
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President Donald Trump had warned that American lives could be lost when he launched the operation on Saturday.
"The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war," he said in an address to the nation on Saturday. "But we're doing this not for now. We're doing this for the future. And it is a noble mission."
In addition to the American service members who were killed, at least eight people were killed in Israel after an Iranian rocket struck a village in central Israel. Iranian drones have also targeted Gulf Arab states, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
BREAKING: At least eight people have been killed in an Iranian rocket attack Beit Shemesh, a village in central Israel. @scrippsnews pic.twitter.com/6BWGK8q7ZD
— jasonbellini (@jasonbellini) March 1, 2026
A top Iranian official said the U.S. and Israel "crossed a red line and must pay the price" for killing Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg," Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address Sunday, according to The Associated Press.
Trump had previously warned Iran against retaliation, saying it would be met with a “force that has never been seen before.”
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Trump also said heavy bombing would “continue uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of peace throughout the Middle East and, indeed, the world.”
The major combat operation, Trump said, is intended to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
He also appealed to the Iranian people, saying he hopes members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and police forces will “peacefully merge with the Iranian patriots” to bring about change in the country.
