Fighting between the United States, Israel and Iran intensified for a third straight day as American forces continued sweeping strikes inside Iran and Tehran retaliated across the region.
U.S. Central Command said B-1 bombers flew missions overnight, targeting ballistic missile infrastructure. In a statement posted on X, CENTCOM said the aircraft “struck deep inside Iran to degrade Iranian ballistic missile capabilities,” adding, “As the President stated, ‘we’re going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground.’”
The joint U.S.-Israeli offensive has hit thousands of sites, including military and missile facilities, following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. According to Iran’s Red Crescent, more than 550 people have died in Iran since the campaign began.
Tehran has responded with missile and drone barrages aimed at Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf nations. At least 11 people have been killed in Israel, with additional fatalities reported in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain. In Lebanon, the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia launched fresh attacks on Israel, prompting Israeli counterstrikes that Lebanese officials say killed dozens.
The Pentagon originally stated Monday that four U.S. service members have died in the conflict, with 18 others seriously wounded. Officials said the latest fatalities occurred during a strike in Kuwait, with Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine telling reporters the casualties stemmed from an attack on a tactical operations center.
Later on Monday, the U.S. military said the number of Americans killed following the start of Operation Epic Fury now stands at six, following the recovery of the remains of two service members who were previously unaccounted for Two Defense Department personnel were injured during Iran’s retaliatory attack on a hotel in Bahrain over the weekend (per CBS News).
CENTCOM said in a release on X: “As of 4 pm ET, March 2, six U.S. service members have been killed in action. 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. Major combat operations continue. The identities of the fallen are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification.” The names of the fallen troops will be withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification.
In a separate incident, three U.S. F-15 fighter jets were shot down in what the military described as a “friendly fire incident,” though all crew members survived.
President Trump defended the operation during remarks at the White House, calling it essential to eliminate what he described as an escalating missile and nuclear threat. He said Iran’s nuclear program had been obliterated during last year’s U.S. strikes, known as “Operation Midnight Hammer,” but claimed Tehran ignored warnings not to rebuild. “An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat to the Middle East, but also to the American people,” Trump said, adding that the U.S. was “very nearly under threat.”
Trump said the campaign could last four to five weeks but emphasized that the military is prepared to continue longer if required. “Whatever it takes, we will always — and we have right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks, but we have the capability to go far longer than that,” he said. Dismissing suggestions he might lose interest, Trump added, “I don’t get bored. There’s nothing boring about this.”
In an interview with the New York Post, Trump declined to rule out deploying U.S. ground forces. “I don’t have the yips with respect to boots on the ground — like every president says, ‘There will be no boots on the ground.’ I don’t say it,” he said. “I say, ‘probably don’t need them,’ [or] ‘if they were necessary.’”
Meanwhile, Iran’s senior security official, Ali Larijani, rejected diplomatic overtures, declaring, “we will not negotiate with the United States,” despite Trump’s assertion that Iranian officials “are talking.”
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