Pentagon Confirms First US Troop Deaths Of ‘Operation Epic Fury’

The Pentagon is confirming the first American troop deaths of the Trump-ordered ‘Operation Epic Fury’ toward accomplishing regime change in Iran:

U.S. military says three service members have been killed and five seriously wounded in the Iran operation: Associated Press

The president campaigned hard on starting no new wars in the Middle East, and abandoning Washington’s “addiction to regime change”… but here we are once again. Below is the full statement issued by US Central Command:

President Trump, who has never served in the military, raised eyebrows with the following remark on Saturday:

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

Some Congressional leaders are outraged that we are clearly in a war, and yet there’s been no war authorization from Congress as required by the US Constitution.

On the question of ‘legality’ and Congressional oversight, Time notes as follows:

The White House said that the so-called Gang of Eight, the bipartisan group of top House and Senate leaders and intelligence committee chairs who are briefed on the nation’s most sensitive security matters, were notified by Secretary of State Marco Rubio shortly before the strikes began. Administration officials had also briefed congressional leadership and intelligence committee heads earlier in the week on escalating tensions with Iran. But those notifications fell short of formal authorization from Congress, which the Constitution assigns the power to declare war under Article 1.

While the Pentagon has not revealed specifics or the locations of the troop casualties, there’s a likelihood it was the result of Iran’s ongoing ballistic missile launches against US bases in the Gulf and Mideast region. Tehran has promised more to come, especially to avenge the death of Supreme Leader Khamenei. 

A look at the massive saturation strikes over the Iranian capital, as presented by the Israeli Air Force, with machine translation:

Below: Dozens of Air Force fighter jets completed another wave of strikes in the skies over Tehran, during which the General Headquarters of the Internal Security Forces was attacked—a facility that served as a command and control center responsible for linking the command echelon with the Iranian terror regime’s forces in the field, and which also led the brutal suppression against the Iranian people.

עשרות מטוסי קרב של חיל-האוויר השלימו גל תקיפות נוסף בשמי טהרן, במסגרתן הותקף המטה הכללי של כוחות ביטחון הפנים, ששימש כמרכז פיקוד ושליטה, האחראי לחבר בין הדרג הפיקודי לכוחות משטר הטרור האיראני בשטח, וכן הוביל את הדיכוי האכזרי נגד העם האיראני.
בנוסף, הושמדה מפקדת ‘ת’אראללה’ ששימשה… pic.twitter.com/oZAiFTdQbe

— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) March 1, 2026

There’s also the possibility that US aviators may have been downed in these opening 48 hours of aerial attacks, given Tehran has already downed an MQ-9 Reaper drone, state media says. Likely there will be more American troop deaths to come, given the operation looks to be expanding, and could takes days, weeks, or even months or more.

Could the war go global as more and more countries and assets in the region are impacted?

The French base, Camp de la Paix in Abu Dhabi was reportedly struck. pic.twitter.com/Ogc237bpKs

— barry with the NED (@bonzerbarry) March 1, 2026

Glenn Greenwald has summarized, “For decades, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and American neoconservatives have dreamed of only one foreign policy goal: having the United States fight a regime-change war against Iran. With the Oval Office occupied by Donald Trump — who campaigned for a full decade on a vow to end regime-change wars and vanquish neoconservatism — their goal has finally been realized.”

There’s still hope for an offramp, however. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Omani counterpart Badr Albusaidi in a call that Iran is open to “serious efforts” toward de-escalation and stability, according to Bloomberg. Albusaidi called for ceasefire and return to negotiation, urging Iran to exercise restraint and avoid moves that could undermine and disrupt good neighborly relations, particularly as Gulf countries are outraged.