President Donald Trump says “there will likely be more” U.S. service members killed in the Iran conflict before it ends — after officials confirmed three service members were killed in the operation this weekend.
Trump called the operation in Iran “one of the most complex, most overwhelming military offensives the world has ever seen,” in a video message shared Sunday afternoon.
Earlier Sunday, the United States Central Command announced that three service members had been killed and five others were seriously wounded by shrapnel in the operation, which U.S. officials have dubbed Operation Epic Fury.
Trump noted the deaths in the video and added, “Sadly, there will likely be more... before it ends, that’s the way it is. Likely be more.”
The president also said Sunday that the U.S.-Israeli joint operation has hit “hundreds of targets in Iran.”
“Combat operations continue at this time in full-force and they will continue until all of our objectives are achieved. We have very strong objectives,” Trump added, without sharing any details about what the objectives would be.
Trump said that an Iranian regime with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons “would be a dire threat” to every American, and that the Iranian leaders had “waged war against civilization itself.”
Additional information, including the names of the slain U.S. service members, will be released 24 hours after their next of kin are notified. It was not immediately clear where the troops were killed.
The joint U.S.-Israel military strikes, which began Saturday morning, carry the potential for a wider war and the fallout could rock the world economy. Since the strikes began, Iran has launched hundreds of retaliatory missiles at Israel and U.S. military installations around the Gulf.
Iran vowed revenge after its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, leaving the Islamic Republic grappling to rebuild its leadership.
The strikes targeted about 40 top Iranian officials in Tehran, including former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was reported to be among those killed.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump warned the U.S. will hit Iran “with a force that has never been seen before,” if it retaliates. Trump urged Iranians to seize the moment and “take over.” He also said Sunday that the Iranians “want to talk, and I have agreed to talk.”
The latest strikes came two days after the most recent U.S.-Iran talks, which saw Trump pressure Tehran to limit its nuclear program.
More than 200 people have died in Iran following the strikes, according to Iranian authorities. Ten people have been killed in Israel and two in the UAE.
Tehran continued to launch retaliation strikes Sunday, with an oil tanker hit off the coast of Oman and a person killed in Abu Dhabi after a drone was intercepted over its airport.
An Iranian Jamaran-class corvette was also struck by U.S. forces during the start of Operation Epic Fury — and the ship is currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman at a Chah Bahar pier, U.S. Central Command wrote on X.
“As the President said, members of Iran’s armed forces, IRGC and police ‘must lay down your weapons.’ Abandon ship,” the post added.
Israel also launched a new wave of strikes on Tehran Sunday, with the country’s military saying its planes had conducted strikes to open the “path to Tehran.”
Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said many targets remained, including sites of military-industrial production.
"We have the capabilities and the targets to keep going on for as long as necessary," he said.
Iran’s provisional governing council started its work Sunday, and is expected to name a new supreme leader. The country has struggled amidst nationwide protests that began over the economy, but turned into anti-government demonstrations.
The U.S. and Israel also struck Iran last June during earlier nuclear talks, and weakened Iran’s air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program as a result.
The Trump administration has asserted that Iran has been rebuilding its nuclear program and has pressured Tehran to limit its actions. Meanwhile, Iran has insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
With reporting by the Associated Press
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