Three U.S. servicemen killed in Iran — first American casualties of Operation Epic Fury

On March 1, 2026, the U.S. military confirmed three American servicemen had been killed in action during Operation Epic Fury — the first U.S. casualties since the operation began on Feb. 28. Trump acknowledged the deaths during media appearances, saying: 'The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties. That often happens in war.'

Operation Epic Fury began on Feb. 28, 2026, when the U.S. and Israel launched a joint military assault on Iran. U.S. forces struck more than 1,000 targets over two days, including nuclear enrichment sites, ballistic missile storage facilities, IRGC command posts, and leadership compounds. Trump declared from Mar-a-Lago that Iran's Supreme Leader AKAli Khamenei had been killed, though Iran's state media did not immediately confirm his death.

Iran responded by launching retaliatory strikes against Israel and across Gulf states. The U.S. Embassy in Qatar issued a shelter-in-place order on March 1 for all U.S. government personnel and their families. The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan issued a separate security alert as violent protests broke out at U.S. consulates in Karachi and Lahore following the Iran strikes.

Congress was not consulted before the operation began. The Trump administration briefed only the eight senior congressional leaders known as the 'Gang of Eight' — and only after strikes had already started, according to reporting on the days immediately prior. Democrats and three Republicans — Reps. TMThomas Massie (R-KY), RPRand Paul (R-KY), and Warren Davidson (R-OH) — said Trump had violated the War Powers Resolution by committing forces to hostilities without congressional authorization.

The House and Senate were each scheduled to hold formal war powers votes midweek in the days following March 1. Democrats planned to support resolutions requiring congressional approval for continued military action. The three dissident Republicans — Massie, Paul, and Davidson — were expected to vote with Democrats, but GOP leadership said they believed those three were 'likely on an island in their own party.'

The Iran strikes came after weeks of indirect nuclear negotiations in Geneva that concluded Feb. 27 with no deal. On Feb. 27, Trump said he was 'not happy' with the negotiations and acknowledged he had a 'big decision to make.' Iran's Omani mediator had told CBS that Iran had agreed in principle to stop stockpiling enriched uranium if a deal was reached — a deal that never materialized before the strikes began.

Sen. LGLindsey Graham (R-SC) defended the operation on Meet the Press on March 1, saying the goal was to ensure Iran could no longer support terrorism or develop nuclear weapons but that the U.S. would not occupy Iran or pick its next government. 'The future of Iran is going to be determined by the Iranian people,' Graham said. Sen. MKMark Kelly (D-AZ) and Rep. RKRo Khanna (D-CA) appeared on the same program opposing the strikes as unauthorized and dangerous.

The operation was the most significant U.S. military action since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and represented a fundamental shift in U.S. Middle East policy — moving from deterrence and diplomacy to direct military strikes aimed at regime change in a major regional power with a population of 88 million.