US Death Toll From Iran Operation Rises to 6 Troops

Six U.S. service members have been killed in action in the U.S. war with Iran, as of March 2.

The Pentagon announced that the remains of two military members have been recovered.

“U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran’s initial attacks in the region,” said U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) in a statement on X.

“Major combat operations continue. The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification.”

So far, 18 U.S. service members have been seriously wounded, a CENTCOM spokesperson said.

The U.S.–Israeli military strikes on Iran have destroyed 11 ships belonging to the Iranian regime, according to the Pentagon.

“Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have ZERO,” CENTCOM said in a March 2 statement on X.

The military went on to say that the Iranian regime had used those ships to harass and attack international ships moving through the Gulf of Oman for years.

“Those days are over,” CENTCOM 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.”

The conflict is far from over, according to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said in a same-day interview that more attacks on Iran are ahead.

“I’m not going to give away the details of our tactical efforts, but the hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military,” Rubio told reporters before briefing senior members of Congress on the conflict.

“The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran than it is right now.”

The secretary of state said there are currently no diplomatic talks with Iran, although “we always have people that reach out from inside of governments.”

“You don’t know if they’re authorized to reach out or not. They’re suffering a tremendous amount of damage,” he said.

As of the afternoon, Rubio told reporters that the Trump administration’s objectives are to destroy Iran’s ballistic missile infrastructure, including its missile manufacturing and launch capabilities, but that these objectives can be achieved without American boots on the ground in Iran.

“Right now, we’re not postured for ground forces, but obviously, the president has those options,” Rubio said. “He’s never going to rule out anything.”

President Donald Trump told The New York Post that he hasn’t ruled out sending service members to Iran if necessary. 

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