Officials said on Monday that six American military service members have been killed during Iran’s retaliation for U.S. and Israeli attacks over the weekend.
The U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, stated that U.S. forces recently retrieved the remains of two previously unaccounted-for service members from a facility that was hit during Iran’s initial attacks in the region.
“Major combat operations are ongoing. The identities of the deceased are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification,” a CENTCOM post on X said.
After U.S. attacks that resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah, Tehran launched a series of strikes on U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, as well as against Israel.
On Monday, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said more U.S. troops were being sent towards the Middle East due to escalations by Iran.
Caine said the U.S. mission in Iran is to “stop Iran from having the ability to project power outside its borders.”
The War Secretary said the mission is to prevent Tehran from producing a nuclear weapon and to destroy some of its military capabilities.
CENTCOM said that over the weekend, Iran had 11 ships in the area where it had disrupted commercial shipping, but that number dropped to zero by Monday.
“The Iranian regime has harassed and attacked international shipping in the Gulf of Oman for decades. Those days are over,” it said. “Freedom of maritime navigation has supported American and global economic prosperity for over 80 years. U.S. forces will continue to defend it.”