Six dead, 18 service members injured in Iran operation

This is a developing story. It will be updated as news unfolds.

The number of American personnel killed and injured in Operation Epic Fury rose Monday as the United States continued its assault on Iran, U.S. Central Command officials confirmed.

In a statement on X, Central Command said a service member who had been “seriously wounded” in the initial assault had succumbed to their injuries. Two others, who were previously unaccounted for, have been recovered — bringing the total number of military personnel killed in action to six.

Pentagon officials did not provide specifics on the circumstances that lead to the deaths, but during a press conference Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a projectile had made it through air defenses and struck a fortified U.S. military position.

Hegseth did not disclose the facility’s location, but reporting by the Washington Post indicated the casualties occurred in Kuwait.

“You have air defenses and lots coming in, and you hit most of it, and we absolutely do — we have incredible air defenders. Every once in a while, you might have one, unfortunately — we call it a ‘squirter’ — that makes its way through, and in that particular case, it hit a tactical operations center,” Hegseth said.

U.S. Central Command said Monday that 18 troops had been wounded, up from the five reported over the weekend, according to Stars and Stripes.

Central Command did not respond to questions regarding the extent of the injuries or whether the service members had been evacuated from the theatre to U.S. military hospitals in Germany or the United States.

The U.S. and Israel launched strikes Saturday on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top leaders. The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported by mid-day Eastern Standard Time that 555 Iranians had been killed in the initial assault.

During a press conference Monday, Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that additional air assets were being sent to the region but he declined to say how many service members were in theatre.

“I think we are just about where we want to be in terms of total combat capacity and combat power,” Caine said.

The identities of the fallen have not been released pending notification of the next of kin.

Caine warned Monday that there would likely be more casualties.

“We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses,” Caine said. “But, as the secretary said, this is major combat operations.”

At a White House ceremony Monday honoring three Medal of Honor recipients, President Donald Trump said the purpose of the operation was three-fold: to destroy Iran’s missile capability; “annihilate” their navy; and ensure that the country would never have nuclear weapons.

Over the weekend, U.S. Northern Command raised the security levels on military installations in the United States to Force Protection Level Bravo, indicating a higher state of alert for those guarding U.S. bases.

Under the Bravo condition, 100% of people entering installations will be required to show current identification and vehicles may be subjected to inspection.

Also, the Trusted Traveler Program — an initiative that allows service members, those who hold a Defense Department identification card and civilians to bring individuals on base without a background check — is suspended.