At least three U.S. service members are among the hundreds confirmed dead in a widening war across the Middle East, set off by a string of U.S. and Israeli surprise attacks on Iran this weekend that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Pentagon officials on Sunday morning said the three American troops were killed in the U.S. military operation — the first Americans to die in the conflict — but did not share circumstances around the deaths, including where they died. The news came as Iran continued to intensify counterattacks across the region, including on American military bases.
U.S. military officials said at least five other service members were seriously wounded and several others experienced minor shrapnel injuries and concussions.
Iranian officials continued to pledge revenge for the attacks across their country and especially for the killing of Khamenei on Saturday.
“To the countries of the region: We are not seeking to attack you,” Ali Larijani, a top Iranian official, said on X. “But when the bases located in your country are used against us, and when the United States carries out operations in the region relying on these forces, then we will target those bases.”
Casualties across the region mounted Sunday, as the war’s second day brought increased violence, with dozens of civilian deaths confirmed in Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
An Iranian missile attack on Sunday hit a synagogue in central Israel, killing at least nine people, bringing the country’s death toll to 11 since the start of its joint assault with the U.S. against Iran, according to Israeli officials. At least 28 others were wounded in the retaliatory strike and 11 others were still missing.
The death toll at a girls school in southern Iran, hit in an attack Saturday, rose to 165, with students, parents and school staff among the dead, according to reports from a state-run news agency in Iran. Dozens more were reported injured. Saturday is a typical school day in Iran.
The U.S. and Israeli militaries did not confirm or explain the attack at the school, but U.S. officials said it was looking into the reports.
In Pakistan, violent clashes between pro-Iran protesters and security forces left at least 22 dead and dozens more injured, including at the U.S. Consulate in the port city of Karachi and at United National and government offices in northern Pakistan.
And a shooting that killed two at a bar in Austin, Texas, early Sunday may also be linked to U.S.-led attacks against Iran, according to local reports. The gunman, who was killed by police, was wearing a sweatshirt that said “Property of Allah” and had an image of the Iranian flag, the Associated Press reported, and the FBI is investigating the shooting as a possible act of terrorism.
But on Sunday, President Trump didn’t appear to be retreating in any way from his offensive against Iran, touting increased attacks that he said sunk nine ships in the Iranian navy. In a separate attack, he claimed, “We largely destroyed their naval headquarters.”
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Trump said he expected fighting to last for several more weeks, which means more U.S. troops may be killed.
“We expect that to happen, unfortunately,” Trump told the newspaper. “It’s always been a four week process. As strong as [Iran] is — it’s a big country — it’ll take four weeks, or less.”
Trump on Saturday said the military assault was aimed at bringing peace throughout the Middle East, which he called a “noble mission,” particularly focused on disabling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities after failed negotiations in recent weeks.
The U.S. president had criticized Khamenei and the Iranian government, and threatened military action, after the deadly response to Iranian protesters in January. In a post after Khamenei’s death, Trump said this is “the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country.”
White House officials confirmed Sunday that potential new Iranian leadership might be open to negotiations with the United States.
A Trump administration official told the Associated Press that, although Trump is “eventually” willing to talk, the military operation currently “continues unabated.” White House officials have not commented on the specific identity of the prospective Iranian leader.
Remaining figures of Khamenei’s inner circle announced a temporary leadership council on Sunday to manage the succession, even as insiders indicate hard-liners within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may now be moving to consolidate power, according to Benjamin Radd, a political analyst at the University of California.
“IRGC divisions have so far been operating independently. They have no central control, which indicates that they were given instructions — a script on what to do ahead of time by Khamenei, and are doing their own thing,” Radd said, “That would mean we’re getting closer to a military dictatorship — something like a junta.”
The escalating war, however, received increased condemnation and concern from across the globe Sunday, including from the pope, who said he had “deep concern” for the escalating violence in Iran and the Middle East.
Speaking Sunday from the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV made a “heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm.” He said he continued to pray for peace, diplomacy and the “well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice,” according to a translated statement.
In Congress, criticism of the military action has continued to build among Democratic lawmakers, who have called the effort not only a military and diplomatic mistake but also said it was potentially beyond Trump’s authority as president.
Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called it “an illegal war,” saying on Fox News Sunday that the president needed congressional approval to carry out the strikes against Iran and declare war on the nation. Gov. Gavin Newsom echoed Kaine, saying Trump’s “reckless, illegal war has no description of an end game. No explanation of an existential threat.”
Many Republicans, however, have defended the president’s decision, citing imminent threats to both U.S. troops and Iranian citizens.
Beyond increasing instability and deaths across the region, energy experts warn that the escalating conflict could also sharply spike oil prices across the world.
Iran’s counteroffensive targeted oil tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime checkpoint that transits roughly 20% of the world’s oil consumption. An oil tanker was damaged off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, according to Reuters, as was one off the coast of Oman.
Helima Croft, a lead analyst for the Royal Bank of Canada, said continued conflict could mean a 30% increase in oil prices around the world.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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