Three US troops killed in military operation against Iran as death toll rises across Middle East
Smoke rises up after a strike in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Three American service members have been killed and five have been seriously injured in military operations targeting Iran, the US military has said.
They are the first reported American casualties since the US and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran on Saturday.
US Central Command said on X on Sunday that several other service personnel “sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions and are in the process of being returned to duty”.
The post said major combat operations will continue. It did not provide further information about the casualties and described the situation as “fluid”.
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It came after Iran vowed revenge for the killing of its supreme leader and traded strikes with Israel as part of a widening war prompted by the surprise attack launched on Saturday.
Blasts in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky on Sunday in an area where there are government buildings.
Iranian authorities say more than 200 people have been killed since the start of the US and Israeli strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders.
Iran fired missiles at an ever-widening list of targets in Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation, while Israel pledged “non-stop” strikes against Iran’s leaders and military.
In Israel, loud explosions caused by missile impacts or interceptions could be heard in Tel Aviv. Israel’s rescue services said eight people were killed and 28 wounded in a strike that hit a synagogue in the central town of Beit Shemesh, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 10.
Meanwhile, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a pre-recorded message aired on state television that a leadership council had begun its work, and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said a new supreme leader would be chosen in “one or two days”.
The strikes and counter-attacks underscore how the killing of Mr Khamenei, and US President Donald Trump’s calls for the overthrow of the decades-old Islamic Republic, carry the potential for a prolonged conflict that could envelop the Middle East.
In a 12-day war in June, Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Iran’s air defences, military leadership and nuclear programme. But the killing of Mr Khamenei and several top security officials creates a leadership vacuum, increasing the risk of regional instability.
After confirming the death of Mr Khamenei early on Sunday, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address: “You have crossed our red line and must pay the price.
“We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”
Mr Trump warned any retaliation would only lead to further escalation.
As Iran targeted the wider Gulf area, the United Arab Emirates said on Sunday three people had been killed so far in Iranian attacks on the country.
The defence ministry said Iran had launched 165 ballistic missiles targeting the country, of which 152 were destroyed. Thirteen fell into the sea, it added.
Iran launched 541 bomb-carrying drones at the UAE, of which 506 were destroyed. Another 35 struck the country, killing three people from Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh, while 58 others were wounded.
In a sign that the attack could spread instability throughout the region, at least nine people were killed in clashes with police as hundreds of people stormed the US Consulate in Pakistan’s port city of Karachi on Sunday, smashing windows.
After the initial strikes on Saturday, Iran immediately launched missiles and drones towards Israel and US military installations in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.
Flights across the Middle East were disrupted, and air defence fire thudded over Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ commercial capital, with explosions continuing on Sunday.
Shrapnel from Iranian attacks on the Emirates’ capital of Abu Dhabi killed two people, state media said, and debris from aerial interceptions caused fires at the city’s main port and on the facade of Dubai’s iconic Burj Al Arab hotel.
Attacks also extended into Oman – Iran’s long-time interlocutor with the West that had not been drawn into the fray previously.
Saudi Arabia condemned Iran’s attacks on its capital, Riyadh, and eastern region, saying it had successfully intercepted them. The kingdom noted that it had not allowed its airspace or territory to be used to target Iran.
Jordan said it “dealt with” 49 drones and ballistic missiles. Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar also said they had intercepted projectiles on Sunday morning.
Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said it is not aware of any Israeli or American strikes in the area of a school in southern Iran where more than 100 people died.
State-run IRNA news agency said a strike hit an all-girls school in the town of Minab on Saturday.
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