Two U.S. service members were killed and another remains missing after an Iranian missile and drone barrage in Jordan on Friday, U.S. Central Command announced.
The military confirmed the deaths on Saturday, as President Donald Trump was visiting his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course. It was not clear if he had already been informed of the deaths, but a White House press pool call scheduled for noon was pushed back to 2 p.m., and then later to 4 p.m., suggesting damage control behind the scenes.
No further details were immediately available about the service members killed.
“Out of respect for the families, CENTCOM will withhold additional information, including the identities of the fallen warriors, until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified,” a statement posted on X read.
CENTCOM said four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals but have since been discharged, while other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty.
The two deaths mark the 15th and 16th U.S. service member fatalities in the conflict with Iran since Trump, 80, entered the war on Feb. 28.
Six service members were killed in a March Iranian attack on a base in Kuwait, followed by six more deaths in a refueling plane crash in Iraq later that month. Another service member was killed in an Iranian strike on Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base that same month.
Earlier this month, a missing U.S. Navy officer who disappeared in the Arabian Sea after an emergency helicopter landing was found dead and identified as Cmdr. Gabriel Edwards, bringing the American death toll in the Iran war to 14.
The two additional deaths on Friday come as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to escalate, after Trump declared last Wednesday that the tentative ceasefire agreement reached in June was “over” following renewed exchanges of fire between the two sides.
On Tuesday, the president said he would consider a ground invasion if he deemed it “appropriate,” refusing to rule out deploying U.S. ground troops to Iran.
The president, who has repeatedly claimed that Iran’s military had already been wiped out and that the country is “dying to make a deal,” previously snubbed 14 troops recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center when he visited the facility for a physical examination in May.
Those on active duty told CBS News last month that they believed there had been an effort to downplay the severity of their injuries after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that “almost 90 percent” of the roughly 400 Americans injured at that time had suffered only minor injuries.
A July Reuters/Ipsos poll found that nearly eight in 10 Americans expect the U.S. military involvement in Iran to “go on for an extended period of time,” despite Trump’s earlier claim that the war would be over within four to six weeks.
On Saturday, videos circulating online showed thick plumes of black smoke rising from Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan after at least two Iranian ballistic missiles struck the facility, which houses U.S. troops and fighter jets.
The White House and CENTCOM did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
