Six members of the American military have lost their lives following Iran’s retaliatory strikes in response to U.S. and Israeli military actions over the weekend, according to officials on Monday.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that U.S. forces have recovered the remains of two service members who were previously unaccounted for after an Iranian attack on a regional facility.
“Major combat operations are still underway. The identities of those who have fallen will be released 24 hours after notifying their next of kin,” CENTCOM shared in a post on X.
Iran initiated a series of attacks on U.S. military installations located in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and also targeted Israel, following U.S. actions that resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
General Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced on Monday that additional U.S. troops are being deployed to the Middle East in response to the increasing tensions with Iran.
The U.S. Central Command confirmed on Monday that six American military personnel have died due to Iranian strikes, as depicted by a U.S. Navy fighter jet stationed on an aircraft carrier.
The U.S. mission in Iran, Caine said, is to “prevent Iran from (the) ability to project power outside its borders.”
War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the mission is to prevent Tehran from producing a nuclear weapon, as well as destroying some of its military capabilities.
Over the weekend, Iran had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman where it has disrupted commercial shipping, CENTCOM said, but that number declined to zero by Monday.
“The Iranian regime has harassed and attacked international shipping in the Gulf of Oman for decades. Those days are over,” it said. “Freedom of maritime navigation has underpinned American and global economic prosperity for more than 80 years. U.S. forces will continue to defend it.”
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