Large Number of U.S. Troops Wounded in Secret Iran Strikes

Dozens of American service members were injured in a series of three Iranian strikes in Jordan during the week leading up to Friday’s attack, which killed two US soldiers and left another unaccounted for.

The earlier attacks, which also damaged several US helicopters, had not been announced publicly by the Pentagon. Multiple officials, however, confirmed the incidents to the New York Times on Monday.

US Central Command, known as CENTCOM, said last week that it had launched retaliatory action in response to Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, but it made no reference to the strikes that had hit American forces in Jordan.

The omission underscores a growing divide between the Pentagon’s insistence on protecting sensitive military operations and its responsibility to keep Americans informed about the expanding conflict.

CENTCOM is under no formal requirement to publicly disclose troop injuries.

Pentagon officials told the Times that many of the wounds were considered minor, and argued that releasing specifics about injured personnel could give Iran useful information as it continues targeting bases that host thousands of US troops.

Since the United States and Israel began strikes against Iran on February 28, more than 400 US troops have been wounded in the conflict. The Pentagon has not provided an updated injury count in several weeks.

First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, 25, and Private Isabella Gonzales, 19, died in Friday’s attack on an American air base in Jordan. They were the first US troops killed in the conflict with Iran since March, raising the American military death toll to 17.

Central Command is also working to establish whether remains found close to the devastated Jordan base belong to a fourth service member who had been listed as missing. 

A third US soldier was killed in northern Iraq on Saturday during the controlled detonation of an unexploded Iranian drone. The Pentagon has not released the soldier’s identity.

As American deaths continue climbing, Trump’s confrontation with Iran is spiraling toward a far wider conflict, with the US unleashing its ninth consecutive wave of strikes.

The President, speaking at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday night after attending the World Cup final, said the US had ‘hit them very hard again’ in a fresh barrage launched to avenge the fallen soldiers.

Iran hit back on Monday morning, launching explosive-laden suicide drones at critical infrastructure in Kuwait, according to the Kuwaiti military. 

Previously, Trump said the deaths of the two troops are ‘a very sad thing.’

The President also told NewsNation on Sunday that he ‘couldn’t care less’ if Iran no longer abides by the peace agreement signed last month.

The overnight bombardment pounded Iranian command centers, air defenses, naval assets, coastal surveillance posts and missile, drone and communications sites. 

The US is trying to cripple Tehran’s ability to menace commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway responsible for carrying one-fifth of all global oil.

Fighting resumed last week after America accused Iran of violating the Memorandum of Understanding by attacking oil tankers passing through the Persian Gulf.

The US Navy has also hit back at Iranian aggression, reimposing a blockade on all of the regime’s ports and seizing several of its ships.

‘The US is planning for a wider war,’ said one American official familiar to the Washington Post. The source noted that the Pentagon was boosting the number of aircraft in the region.

The official cautioned that the expanded operation would be limited because US stocks of air-defense and long-range weapons are running low, and battle damage was restricting how many extra troops and warplanes can be funneled into the region.