President Donald Trump has stated that he will continue to carry out strong strikes against Iran to honor recently fallen U.S. service members.
On July 19, during a return trip to Washington after watching the World Cup final, Trump told reporters, "Tonight, we hit Iran very hard again," adding, "I did it to honor three great patriots."
Trump expressed deep sorrow over the U.S. casualties, emphasizing that they were fighting to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
His comments came amid reports of U.S. military fatalities resulting from Iranian attacks and unexploded ordnance. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported on the same day via social media that one U.S. service member was killed and another injured in northern Iraq. The incident occurred while they were attempting to detonate unexploded ordnance from an Iranian drone that was shot down on July 18.
Additionally, on July 17, two U.S. service members were killed and one went missing while responding to Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in Jordan. CENTCOM also reported that unidentified remains were found at the attack site and are undergoing identification procedures. While there is a possibility that the remains belong to the missing service member, CENTCOM has withheld official confirmation until identification is complete.
As a result, the confirmed U.S. military fatalities since the onset of hostilities with Iran on February 28 have risen to 17. If the remains currently being analyzed are confirmed to belong to the missing service member, the total death toll would increase to 18.
Meanwhile, CENTCOM announced via social media that new airstrikes against Iran began on July 19 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (8 a.m. July 20, Korean time).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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