Death toll for US service members in Iran war at 4 as Trump projects weeks of conflict

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he expects war with Iran will continue however long it takes to achieve his objectives, which include eliminating the country’s missile program, preventing its leaders from building a nuclear weapon and ensuring it cannot fund terrorism.

“Right from the beginning, we projected four to five weeks,” he said at a Medal of Honor ceremony in the East Room of the White House. “But we have capability to go far longer than that. We’ll do it. Whatever.”

His remarks followed an early morning briefing with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who emphasized to those in attendance the U.S. war on Iran will continue unabated on Trump’s terms, with more troops on the way and more casualties expected.

Speaking in public for the first time since the United States and Israel launched a massive attack early Saturday, Hegseth, whose comments came as the military announced the fourth U.S. service member killed, would not specify a timeline or exit strategy for the mission.

“We will finish this on America first conditions of President Trump’s choosing, nobody else’s, as it should be,” Hegseth said.

Trump mentioned the four U.S. military troops killed so far, who haven’t yet been publicly identified, as a reason to continue with his war.

“Today, we grieve for the four heroic American service members who have been killed in action, and send our love and support to their families,” he said. “In their memory, we continue this mission with ferocious, unyielding resolve to crush the threat this terrorist regime poses to the American people, and a threat, indeed it is.”

Trump said the objectives of the conflict with Iran “are clear.”

Military forces, he said, will destroy the country’s missile capabilities, its Navy, prevent it from building a nuclear weapon and block its leaders from sponsoring terrorism.  

Approval from Congress

Trump did not say whether he would seek approval from Congress, which holds the power to declare war under the Constitution. And he did not take questions from reporters as he left the Medal of Honor ceremony about whether he would send U.S. ground troops into Iran.

Votes are expected this week in both the U.S. Senate and House on war powers resolutions attempting to check Trump’s power to engage in armed conflict.

Hegseth did not provide details about the three U.S. service members whose deaths were announced Sunday. The secretary said that “a squirter” — apparently referring to an offensive missile or drone — was not intercepted by air defense systems.

“And in that particular case, (it) happened to hit a tactical operation center that was fortified, but these are powerful weapons,” Hegseth told reporters.

The Associated Press reported Sunday the troops were U.S. Army soldiers deployed to Kuwait.

More U.S. troops and airpower are expected to arrive in the region Monday, according to Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. “This is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives that (U.S. Central Command) and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve, and in some cases will be difficult and gritty work. We expect to take additional losses, and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses,” Caine said at the press conference alongside Hegseth.

The escalating conflict has jolted the region and shook world energy markets as Iran continues retaliatory strikes across the Gulf nations.

Nuclear ambitions cited

The secretary said the mission, dubbed by the administration as Operation Epic Fury, is “laser focused” on eliminating Iran’s nuclear ambitions by destroying its offensive missile stockpile and production facilities, as well as its naval and security infrastructure.

“We’re hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly, and unapologetically with every passing day. Our capabilities get stronger and Iran’s get weaker. We set the terms of this war from start to finish,” Hegseth said.

The secretary sidestepped a question on how much of Iran’s infrastructure has been destroyed since Saturday. Caine said assessing what remains of Iran’s long-range strike capabilities “will take some time.”

Trump reiterated that a bombing campaign he initiated earlier this year “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program, though he said the country’s leaders, many of whom are now dead, “ignored those warnings and refused to cease their pursuit of nuclear weapons.”

“In addition, the regime’s conventional ballistic missile program was growing rapidly and dramatically, and this posed a very clear, colossal threat to America and our forces stationed overseas,” he said. “The regime already had missiles capable of hitting Europe and our bases, both local and overseas, and would soon have had missiles capable of reaching our beautiful America.”

Iranians began rebuilding the facilities bombed by the U.S. and Israel in June, but  authorities had blocked international inspectors from assessing the areas, according to a PBS report citing an anonymous U.S. official.

Iran retaliation

The conflict rapidly spread Sunday and into Monday across the Middle East, as Iran launched retaliatory missiles and drones following the targeted fatal strike by Israeli defense forces and U.S. intelligence of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

On Monday, Iran attacked key energy infrastructure, interrupting oil and gas production in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, two of the world’s largest suppliers, according to international media outlets. 

Gulf nations, usually safe havens and luxury getaways in the volatile region, ground to a halt as strikes and debris from intercepted missiles damaged the United Arab Emirates’ Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest, and nearby iconic tourist destinations, according to Reuters. 

The U.S. State Department issued directives for Americans in the region, including a shelter-in-place order Sunday for all U.S. embassy staff in Qatar as airspace remained closed.

Jets go down over Kuwait

No deaths were reported after three U.S. F-15 fighter jets crashed over Kuwait Monday in an apparent friendly fire incident, according to U.S. Central Command. Video of an apparent U.S. fighter jet falling from the sky circulated on social media Monday.

The fighting spread to Lebanon after Iranian-backed Hezbollah fighters fired rockets into Israel. Israel returned fire, including in Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. Several media outlets reported casualties, citing Lebanon’s health officials.

Nine people were killed Sunday in central Israel after a missile hit a synagogue bomb shelter, The Associated Press reported.

The death toll across Iran hit at least 555 since the conflict began, according to Iranian Red Crescent Society figures cited by Al Jazeera. Iranian officials attributed more than 150 deaths to a strike Saturday on a school in southern Iran, according to numerous international reports.

Buildup of troops over past month

The administration began amassing thousands of troops, aircraft and naval ships over the past 30 days in the region, including relocating its largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, from its position in the southern hemisphere where U.S. troops apprehended Venezuela’s leader on Jan. 3.

The “rapid buildup,” Caine said, included service members from Wisconsin’s Army National Guard, which was operating in Kuwait and Iraq, and Air National Guard units from various states, including Vermont and Virginia.

Caine would not answer questions about the total number of U.S. troops involved.

Trump gave the final order for the attack on Friday, just before 4 p.m. Eastern, and joint strikes with Israel’s forces commenced overnight Saturday, at 9:45 a.m. Tehran time.

“The president directed, and I quote, ‘Operation Epic Fury is approved. No aborts, good luck,’” according to Caine.

Operations centers in Tampa, Florida and at the Pentagon directed strikes on more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours, Caine said.