The US Central Command confirmed that three American service members have died during military operations against Iran, marking the first confirmed casualties since the strikes began on Saturday.
Five additional personnel were reported seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury, though the identities of the deceased have not yet been released.
When announcing the campaign, President Donald Trump warned that “the lives of American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war.”
On Sunday, Israel and the US carried out another round of heavy attacks across Iran, the second day of a military campaign targeting Iranian government and military infrastructure. The operation has further heightened regional tensions, with unpredictable consequences.
Trump also stated that the US would strike Iran “with a force that has never been seen before” if Tehran retaliated following the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a recent airstrike.
The strikes reportedly targeted more than just current leadership. The Tehran residence of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was also destroyed, though his status remains unconfirmed.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media reported that nearly 150 people were killed in a missile attack on a girls’ school in southern Iran, making it the deadliest single incident of the US-Israeli campaign to date.
Following the strikes, anti-war demonstrations erupted across the US, including outside the White House and in Times Square. Protest organizers released a statement:
“Trump’s unprovoked, illegal attack on Iran is an act of war that threatens to cause unthinkable death and destruction. But the people of this country reject another endless war and will take to the streets now and make our voices heard.”
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