Three United States service members have been killed in action, and five are “seriously wounded” in President Donald Trump’s surprise war with Iran.
The U.S. Central Command announced the casualties in “Operation Epic Fury” on Sunday morning.
“As of 9:30 am ET, March 1, three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury,” a spokesperson wrote.
“Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty. Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing."
The statement continues: “The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will withhold additional information, including the identities of our fallen warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.”
A spokesperson for the Pentagon directed the Daily Beast to a statement from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth where he described “OPERATION EPIC FURY” as the “most lethal, most complex, and most-precision aerial operation in history.”
“The United States did not start this conflict, but we will finish it,” he wrote Saturday of the war Trump started in coordination with Israel. “If you kill or threaten Americans anywhere in the world—as Iran has—then we will hunt you down, and we will kill you."
Other Trump administration officials also paid tribute or acknowledged the cost to the American people.
“Freedom is never free,” wrote United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz alongside an American flag emoji.
Waltz was ousted from his previous role as national security adviser after he accidentally added Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic to a Signal group chat discussing sensitive military strikes.
Other Trump administration officials also paid tribute or acknowledged the American cost.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
President Donald Trump’s surprise missile strikes on Iran that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, launched a war the president admitted would cost American lives.
“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties, that often happens in war,” Trump said in an eight-minute video he posted early on Saturday morning, wearing no tie and a white USA trucker hat.
Aside from Truth Social posts, the president has not addressed the American public since releasing the announcement of the strikes on social media. Instead, the president hosted a glitzy fundraiser at his sprawling Florida estate on Saturday night.
Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were spotted rubbing shoulders with donors at the event. Earlier Saturday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Trump, “still intends to stop by the fundraiser being held at Mar-a-Lago this evening for the Republican Party, which is more important than ever.”
In the Middle East, the fallout from the initial attacks continues to escalate, leading to a mounting death toll. There have been missile attacks on at least 10 countries in the first day: Iran, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, and Qatar.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament, lashed out Sunday, calling U.S. and Israeli leaders “filthy criminals” and vowing they would suffer “devastating blows” for crossing Iran’s “red line.”
In a televised address, he warned: “You have crossed our red line and must pay the price.”
Israel, which launched strikes in coordination with the U.S., reported at least eight people were killed, and 28—including children— were wounded in a “missile barrage” on Saturday and overnight in the country.
The United Arab Emirates Defense Ministry told ABC News three people were killed and 58 were injured in Iranian attacks over the weekend. The people killed were from Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh, according to the statement.
In Kuwait, one person has been killed and 32 others injured since Iran launched strikes on the country, the BBC reported.
Social media quickly flooded with posts mourning American lives lost—and blaming Trump’s officials.
“My God, these poor military members and their poor families. I’m sorry for them and praying for them,” former congresswoman and Trump foe Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote.
“This was absolutely unnecessary and is unacceptable.”
She continued: “Trump, Vance, Tulsi, and all of us campaigned on no more foreign wars and regime change. Now, America soldiers are dead.”
