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Three U.S. service members were killed and five were “seriously wounded” during the United States and Israel’s military operation against Iran, U.S. Central Command said Sunday. Several service members also received minor shrapnel injuries and concussions.
“Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing,” U.S. Central Command said. “The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will withhold additional information, including the identities of our fallen warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.”
Hours after the deaths were announced, President Donald Trump posted a video to Truth Social, where he said “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,” Trump said. “…We’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case, but America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against, basically, civilization.”
Hundreds of targets in Iran were hit during the joint strikes, Trump said, including Revolutionary Guard facilities and Iranian air defense systems.
The U.S., he said, cannot allow Iran to have long range missiles and nuclear weapons.
“I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military police, to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death,” he said.
Israel and Iran continued striking each other a day after the U.S. and Israel’s attacks killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as other senior Iranian leaders.
The Associated Press reported Sunday that blasts in an area of Tehran where there are government buildings sent a plume of smoke into the sky. According to Iranian officials, more than 200 people have died since the attacks started. At least 165 people were killed when a strike hit a girls’ school in southern Iran, the local governor said to state media.
The streets were largely empty in Tehran, with most people sheltering during heavy airstrikes.
In retaliation for Saturday’s strikes, Iran launched a barrage of missiles targeting Israeli and U.S. military bases across the region, including Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
U.S. Central Command said Iran attacked “more than a dozen” other locations, including airports, such as Dubai and Kuwait International; hotels in Dubai and the Crowne Plaza in Bahrain; the Port of Dubai and Haifa Oil Refinery, as well as residential areas in Israel, Bahrain and Qatar.
Loud explosions were heard Sunday in Tel Aviv, the AP wrote, attributing them to missile impacts or interceptions. Nine people died and dozens were injured during a strike in Beit Shemesh, Israel’s emergency services said. Israeli police say 11 people are unaccounted for.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the U.S. and Israel crossed a red line, and “the time for final revenge has come.”
“We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg,” Ghalibaf said.
Trump on Truth Social responded that “THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!”
White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Sunday that Trump spoke with leaders of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
Oman said it intercepted projectiles targeting its seaports. At least four people died in strikes on Gulf countries, the AP said.
While the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have struck the USS Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Central Command maintained that this was a lie, and that it continues to launch aircraft.
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