President Donald Trump paid tribute to three fallen U.S. service members and warned more casualties could follow as Operation Epic Fury unfolds against Iran.
United States Central Command confirmed that three American troops were killed in action and at least five others were wounded as of 9:30 a.m. EST Sunday.
Trump addressed the losses in a Sunday interview with the Daily Mail before delivering a six-minute video statement on Truth Social.
“They’re great people,” Trump said of the troops. “And, you know, we expect that to happen, unfortunately. Could happen continuous— it could happen again.”
CENTCOM Update
TAMPA, Fla. – As of 9:30 am ET, March 1, three U.S. service members have been killed in action and five are seriously wounded as part of Operation Epic Fury.
Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being…
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 1, 2026
Trump described the broader campaign as moving forward on schedule. He pointed to early battlefield results that he said exceeded military projections.
“I think it’s going as per planned,” Trump said. “You know, other than we took out their entire leadership — far, far more than what we thought. Looks like 48.”
In his recorded remarks, Trump returned to the human toll of the mission. “Earlier today, CENTCOM shared the news that three U.S. military service members have been killed in action,” Trump said.
“As one nation we grieve for the true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives.”
BREAKING 🚨 President Trump just dropped one very simple message: “We will ensure Iran doesn’t obtain Nuclear we*apons”
IRAN SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO TRUMP
PRAY FOR OUR TROOPS 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Om5iwahBd8
— MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) February 28, 2026
“We pray for the full recovery of the wounded and send our immense love and eternal gratitude to the families of the fallen. And sadly, there will likely be more before it ends,” he continued.
“That’s the way it is. Likely be more. But we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.”
Operation Epic Fury began early Saturday in coordination with Israel and targeted Iranian missile infrastructure and senior regime figures.
Trump confirmed in a Saturday post that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed hours after announcing the start of the operation.
This video President Trump shared last year with the song "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" has aged very well.
Pray for President Trump and our troops!
pic.twitter.com/XylBYUx0jR— Bo Loudon (@BoLoudon) February 28, 2026
Iran responded by launching hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones at targets in Israel and across the Gulf region, including Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
The United States and several regional partners issued a joint condemnation of Tehran’s retaliation.
“The United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates strongly condemn the Islamic Republic of Iran’s indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks against sovereign territories across the region, including Bahrain, Iraq — including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region — Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates,” the statement said.
🚨🚨President Trump addresses the nation on Iran
Donald J. Trump Truth Social Post of Video 04:06M EST 03.01.26 pic.twitter.com/A63HbzDbgD
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 1, 2026
“These unjustified strikes targeted sovereign territory, endangered civilian populations, and damaged civilian infrastructure,” the statement added.
“The Islamic Republic’s actions represent a dangerous escalation that violates the sovereignty of multiple states and threatens regional stability,” the joint statement continued.
“The targeting of civilians and of countries not engaged in hostilities is reckless and destabilizing behavior.”
🚨 VENEZUELAN DICTATOR NICOLAS MADURO IN U.S. CUSTODY 🚨 Do you AGREE Trump made America STRONG again??? ➡️➡️➡️ TAKE THE FREEDOM POLL NOW and stand with President Trump!!!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
While the administration framed the operation as necessary for security, Democratic lawmakers moved quickly to challenge both the strategy and the process.
Rep. Pat Ryan of New York, an Army veteran, criticized Trump for not answering questions from reporters at the White House about the fallen troops.
“For the president to not answer those questions, to have nothing to say to those family members, is pathetic. It’s pathetic. And it’s because he doesn’t have answers. There is not a plan here, if [there] is he’s not sharing it with the American people,” Ryan said on CNN.
Ryan argued that the military action mirrors earlier conflicts in the Middle East.
He described the campaign as recalling “past ill-conceived, half-baked, regime-change wars that sound good until they start, and then all of a sudden no one knows what the heck is going on, and it’s young American men and women that pay the price, and that pisses me off.”
Ryan also faulted the president for bypassing Congress before launching the strikes. “This decision was wrong on every level,” he said.
“It was wrong strategically; it makes us less safe. It makes the American people less safe. It was wrong procedurally, certainly, in that he totally ignored the Constitution. And then I think there’s a moral piece of it, too.”
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut cast doubt on the administration’s stated objectives. “Now, the president has said that the goal is regime change, and the goal is to eliminate Iran’s missile program and their nuclear program,” Murphy said on CBS News.
“He is not going to succeed in either of those endeavors. His intelligence agencies have already told him that the most likely outcome is that hard-line members of the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] replace the current leadership,” he continued.
Murphy claimed the operation would not result in a “democracy” and could lead to “even worse Iranian leadership.”
“We already know that you can’t bomb their nuclear program out of existence. He told us last year that he had obliterated the program, and then apparently, over the course of the last year, they had gotten back to within a week,” he added.
Sen. Adam Schiff of California warned that the conflict could spiral beyond Washington’s control.
“There was simply no basis to go in with this massive military campaign, with the goal of regime change. And the concern here is that we have unleashed factors in the region now that we cannot control,” Schiff said on ABC News.
He also suggested that instability could follow the reported death of Iran’s supreme leader.
“If the Iranian people do rise up, as [Trump] has called upon them to do, maybe they’re successful,” Schiff said. “Maybe they get slaughtered in reliance on the president’s implicit promise that we will be there to help them.”
“The president broke his promise to the American people of no more regime change wars, broke his promise to focus on bringing down the cost for American families,” Schiff said, referencing a Senate War Powers Resolution introduced with Sens. Chuck Schumer, Tim Kaine and Rand Paul to block further action without congressional approval. “There’s nothing in this action that’s going to improve the lives of Americans.”
Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia labeled the operation unlawful.
“This is an illegal war. I have a war powers resolution queued up for vote this week, and I’m encouraging my colleagues to assert the constitutional power vested in the legislative branch,” Kaine said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“The president has called this war against Iran,” he noted. “The president can act to imminently defend the United States against imminent attack, if that happens without congressional approval needing later ratification by Congress.”
“But if you’re going to initiate war, you need Congress. The president not only did not come to Congress to seek a debate or vote, he acted without even notification to the vast majority of us,” he added.
Administration officials are preparing to brief lawmakers on the operation and its aftermath. Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will address members of both chambers Tuesday.
Johnson also noted that the Pentagon briefed bipartisan staff from several national security committees for more than 90 minutes Sunday on the strikes and the expanding conflict.
