Three US military personnel have died in combat this Sunday, and five more were seriously injured in one of the Iranian army's responses to the Epic Fury operation that on Saturday morning triggered hundreds of US and Israel bombings throughout the country, resulting in the death of Ali Jamenei, the supreme leader.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for the operations, has not provided details on how or where they died, but stated in a release that several others suffered minor injuries from shrapnel and concussions after an explosion. One possibility suggested by intelligence sources is that it occurred at one of the nearby bases. NBC has confirmed independently that the troops died overnight and belonged to an infantry support unit deployed in Kuwait.
These are the first US casualties in this new intervention in the Middle East. President Donald Trump had previously celebrated that no soldiers were injured in the first 24 hours, and no vessels were damaged, and a few hours ago had warned of strong retaliation if Iran reacted. "As a nation, we mourn the loss of true patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation as we continue the just mission for which they gave their lives. We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen. Unfortunately, there may be more deaths before it ends. There probably will be more, but we will do everything possible to prevent that," the president stated in a video addressed to the country posted on his social media in the late afternoon, local time.
The president has been following the events in the Middle East throughout the weekend from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and will return to the White House at night. Throughout the video and numerous short interviews with TV, radio, and newspapers, he expressed satisfaction with the death of Jamenei, "a vile, atrocious, and bloodthirsty man," and the destruction of many infrastructures. While he did not indicate a clear plan for the country's future from now on, he suggested that the bombings could last a month. Sufficient time for the population to rise up and overthrow the regime.
"I appeal to all Iranian patriots yearning for freedom to seize this moment, be brave, bold, heroic, and reclaim your country. The United States is with you. I made you a promise, and I kept it. The rest will depend on you, but we will be there to help," he added, recalling his own words in mid-January when he said, "help is on the way." "That will happen. They are seeing it, and I think it will happen," the president told The Atlantic about a possible revolution in the streets that could overthrow the government and remove power from the religious leaders and the Revolutionary Guard, which seems to be acting autonomously in the military response. "Many people are extremely happy there, in Los Angeles and many other places," the president continued about the expressions of joy in the US, including one near the White House on Saturday.
The Revolutionary Guard, which according to the Iranian Foreign Minister is operating almost autonomously, responded on Sunday with missiles to Israel, US bases in Iraq, and projectiles in all directions. The armed forces also claimed on Sunday that they had managed to hit the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier after launching four ballistic missiles. However, the US Central Command completely denied the possibility that one of its aircraft carriers had been hit.
"The Iranian Revolutionary Guard claims to have attacked the USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles. LIE. The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn't even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM's tireless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime," they denied.
Throughout the day, Trump ignored this possibility and focused on the targets hit by Israeli and US missiles. "I have just been informed that we have destroyed and sunk nine Iranian warships, some of them relatively large and important. We are going after the rest. Soon they will also be floating at the bottom of the sea! In another attack, we practically destroyed their Naval Headquarters. Otherwise, their Navy is doing very well," he mocked on his Truth Social account.
Willing to talk with Iranian leaders
Trump has not explained what will happen in the coming days, but in several interviews, he has shown his willingness to talk without stopping the attacks. "They want to talk, and I have agreed to do so, so I will talk to them," the US president stated on Sunday about the Iranian leadership, without specifying with whom, how, or when. "They should have done it before. They should have given what was very practical and easy to do before. They waited too long," Trump told The Atlantic in a phone call from his Mar-a-Lago club early in the morning.
When asked if he had something planned for today, tomorrow, or soon, Trump responded, "I can't guarantee it," adding that some of the Iranians who participated in the negotiations in recent weeks with his son-in-law Jared Kushner and his envoy Steve Witkoff were no longer alive. "Most of those people are no longer there. Some of the people we were dealing with are no longer there because that was a very hard blow. "They should have done it before, Michael. They could have reached an agreement. They should have done it before. They were playing tough," he added. Later, speaking with Fox, he estimated that nearly 50 senior Iranian officials had died in the bombings. "It's progressing. It's moving quickly. This had been the same for 47 years, but now it's moving rapidly. No one can believe the success we are having; 48 leaders have disappeared at once," he asserted.
In the last 24 hours, the president has given many brief interviews, and in each one, he has provided different and vague responses about his plans, strategy, whether the attacks will continue. And most importantly, what the exact objective of the bombings is. They have decapitated the Iranian leadership, killed the country's leader and many of his associates, and eliminated military installations. But Trump does not clarify where the end is.
"The United States will avenge the deaths of the soldiers and deal the hardest blow to the terrorists who have waged war against, basically, civilization itself. They have waged war against civilization itself; our determination, and also that of Israel, has never been stronger. The United States is now by far the richest and most powerful nation in the world, but the only reason we enjoy the quality of life we have, the freedom and security we have, is because we have done things that others cannot do. And this is because of warriors willing to give their lives to fight our enemies, and they fight better than anyone. An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a serious threat to all," he said in his address to the country.
In the afternoon, local time, the president stated in a conversation with The Daily Mail that the operations could last a whole month... or maybe less. "It has always been a four-week process. We estimated it would be approximately four weeks. It has always been a process of about four weeks, so despite how strong it is, it's a large country, it will take four weeks or less," explained the president.
In the last hours, Trump explained that he had spoken with the leaders of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, and some other countries. In response to the news that Riyadh could launch attacks against Iran if they are targeted by missiles again, the president assured that his allies are participating. "They are fighting, they are also fighting."
"We have undertaken this massive operation not only to ensure the safety of our time and place, but also that of our children and the children of our descendants, just as our ancestors did for us many years ago. This is the duty and responsibility of a free people. These actions are just and necessary to ensure that Americans will never again have to face a radical and bloodthirsty terrorist regime armed with nuclear weapons and posing multiple threats," he concluded in his address.