Three U.S. service members were killed and five seriously wounded as the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran, U.S. Central Command said Sunday morning.
The three service members were the first Americans killed in the operation, the Pentagon said.
Several others sustained minor injuries from shrapnel and concussions, but will return to duty, the Pentagon said. The identities of the dead and wounded have not been made public.
Central Command did not say how the service members were killed.
“The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will withhold additional information, including the identities of our fallen warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified,” CENTCOM said in a statement.
The U.S. and Israel launched sweeping airstrikes on Iran on Saturday, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader for nearly four decades. Iran has vowed retaliation and hit several U.S. military bases across the region, many in Persian Gulf countries.
President Donald Trump told CNBC’s Joe Kernen on Sunday that the operation in Iran is “moving along very well, very well — ahead of schedule.”
In a phone call with MS NOW late Saturday, Trump called the celebrations in the streets of Iran “fantastic” following the killing of Khamenei.
Confirming Khamenei’s death, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday: “We have eliminated the tyrant Khamenei and dozens of senior figures of the oppressive regime. Our forces are now striking at the heart of Tehran with increasing intensity, set to escalate further in the coming days.”
The exchange of hostilities comes after weeks of fragile negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over Iran’s nuclear operations.
Esmail Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, called the joint U.S-Israeli attack an “unprovoked, unwarranted act of aggression” in an interview with MS NOW’s Ali Velshi on Sunday. He said Iran’s nuclear program has been used a pretext for the attack.
“We have every right to defend our people because we have come under this egregious act of aggression,” Baghaei said.
Trump announced the attack early Saturday during a short video posted on his Truth Social account. He called for an end to the Iranian regime and urged Iranians to “take back the country.”
Negotiators and mediators from Oman were supposed to meet in Vienna on Monday to discuss the technical aspect of a potential nuclear deal.
The strikes have had impacts across the region, particularly in Gulf countries caught in the crossfire. In addition to Iran, airspace has also been closed in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.
Erum Salam is breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian and is a graduate of Texas A&M University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Follow her on X, Bluesky and Instagram.