Topline
Three American service members were killed during the operation targeting Iran, the U.S. military confirmed on Sunday, while five others were “seriously wounded” during the strikes.
Key Facts
“Several others” suffered “minor shrapnel injuries and concussions” during the strikes, U.S. Central Command confirmed in a post on social media, while “major combat operations” remain ongoing.
The service members were not immediately identified while the military works to notify their next-of-kin.
The military provided no further information about the deaths at this time, including when or where troops were killed or injured.
Key Background
The American deaths come as other countries in the region report casualties from Iranian retaliatory strikes. At least nine people were killed when an Iranian missile struck a synagogue in Beit Shemesh, a city in central Israel, on Sunday, the Associated Press confirmed citing Israeli police. Three more people were killed in the United Arab Emirates, the country’s ministry of defense confirmed on Sunday. The UAE said it “dealt with” hundreds of Iranian missiles and drones since the campaign began. Another person was killed and at least 30 injured in Kuwait as of Sunday morning, the AP reported citing the country’s health ministry. Both Gulf states host U.S. military bases or U.S. troops.
Will Iran Continue Retaliatory Strikes?
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi claimed “nothing has changed in our military capabilities” even after the air strikes that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “We are defending ourselves and we have every right, every legitimate right to defend ourselves,” Araghchi told host George Stephanopoulos. However, in an interview with The Atlantic, President Donald Trump said he has agreed to further talks with Iran. “They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them. They should have done it sooner. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do sooner,” Trump said. The U.S. has been negotiating a new nuclear deal with the Iranian government, and negotiations were expected to continue next week.
Tangent
U.S. Central Command confirmed American forces in the region successfully sunk an Iranian naval ship on Sunday morning. The ship, a Jamaran-class corvette, is “currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman at a Chah Bahar pier,” the military said, referring to a port in southeastern Iran. The command center also refuted Iranian claims of a strike against the USS Abraham Lincoln, a major aircraft carrier positioned in the Persian Gulf. Missiles launched by the Iranian military “didn’t even come close” to the carrier, the U.S. military said.
