A US Navy Aviation soldier operates a tractor on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, in the Arabian Sea, in this handout photograph taken on February 20, 2026, and released by the US Navy on February 24, 2026. SEAMAN ALJAY MONZALES / AFP
Three members of the US military have been killed and five others wounded in the operation against Iran, the Pentagon said on Sunday, March 1, announcing the first American deaths in the US-Israeli campaign that killed the Islamic Republic of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran launched a new round of retaliatory attacks across the Gulf on Sunday after vowing to avenge the slain Ayatollah Khamenei, defying a threat from President Donald Trump to strike with unprecedented force.
"Three US service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury," the Pentagon said, adding that several others had sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions. "Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing."
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had struck the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which had been deployed to the region ahead of the campaign, but the Pentagon insisted it was not hit, saying the "missiles launched didn't even come close."
