The United States has confirmed that about 140 of its service members have been wounded since the start of its war against Iran on February 28.
The Pentagon disclosed the figure in a statement on Tuesday, noting that most of the injuries sustained by the troops were minor.
“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 US service members have been wounded over 10 days of sustained attacks,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell,.said.
“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty. Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care.”
The clarification followed a report by Reuters, which cited two unnamed officials as saying that 150 service members were injured during the first 10 days of the conflict.
The US military has also confirmed seven deaths resulting from Iranian attacks across the region. It added on Monday that an eighth service member died from a “health-related incident” in Kuwait.
Iran launched missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases in the Middle East after a joint US-Israeli bombardment campaign killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with more than 1,250 others.
US President Donald Trump has not ruled out sending American troops directly into Iran as the conflict continues
Speaking on Monday, Trump said the war was “very complete” and suggested it could end soon. However, his aides indicated that the military campaign was still in its early stages and would continue until its objectives were achieved.
When asked which position reflected the administration’s actual stance, Trump told reporters: “I think you could say both.”
The President added that the conflict represents the “beginning of building a new country”, stressing that Iran’s military capabilities had been significantly weakened.
White House spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, said on Tuesday that the US offensive was progressing faster than initially expected.
“The president and the US military’s initial timeline was about four to six weeks to achieve the full objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt said.
She added that the goals are “to destroy their missiles and their ability to make them, destroy their navy, permanently deny them nuclear weapons forever, and to, of course, weaken their evil terrorist proxies in the region”.
Iran has repeatedly denied seeking the nuclear weapon.
