Three U.S. service members killed, five wounded in Iran operation, Pentagon says

Three U.S. service members have been killed and five others seriously wounded in Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike attack on Iran, U.S. Central Command said Sunday.

Several other service members received minor shrapnel wounds. Those not in critical condition are expected to return to duty, CENTCOM said.

President Trump told a reporter later Sunday that he had expected U.S. casualties, given the scale of his operation against Iran. Still, he said the world would benefit from the strikes against Tehran.

“We have three, but we expect casualties, but in the end, it’s going to be a great deal for the world,” Mr. Trump told NBC News.

Mr. Trump commented on the casualties as part of a weekend series of media interviews and social media posts about the military campaign he ordered against Iran early Saturday in coordination with Israel.

Otherwise, Mr. Trump kept a low public profile while speaking with foreign leaders and monitoring events from his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.

Democrats said Mr. Trump should have consulted Congress or made a public case for the military strikes. The president said his reasoning for ordering the action was simple.

“[The Iranians] weren’t willing to stop their nuclear research,” he told NBC. “They weren’t willing to say they will not have a nuclear weapon.”

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He said the U.S. might stop its bombardment if Iran “can satisfy us,” but “they haven’t been able to.”

Iran lashed out at Israel and other targets in the Middle East.

The Pentagon did not disclose where the three Americans killed were stationed or offer any details on the fatal attack. The names of those killed are expected to be released 24 hours after their immediate families have been notified.

Their deaths mark the first casualties of the military operation in Iran.

In his video address announcing the operation, Mr. Trump warned that American casualties could result.

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“The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties,” he said. “That often happens in war. But we’re doing this not for now, we’re doing this for the future.”

• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.