The US Department of Defense says eight service members are still in critical condition as the White House praises the assault’s progress.
Posted on March 10, 2026
The United States has confirmed that around 140 of its military personnel have been injured since the start of the war against Iran on February 28.
The Pentagon said in a statement Tuesday that most of the injuries were minor.
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“Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 140 U.S. service members have been wounded during 10 days of sustained strikes,” Pentagon spokesman 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 seriously injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care.”
The statement came after the Reuters news agency published a report quoting two unnamed officials as saying that 150 service members were wounded in the first 10 days of the war.
The US military has confirmed seven deaths from Iranian strikes across the region. On Monday, it said an eighth service member died from a “health-related incident” in Kuwait.
Iran has responded to the US-Israel bombing campaign that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and more than 1,250 others with missile and drone attacks against Israel and US bases in the Middle East.
US President Donald Trump has not ruled out deploying US troops to Iran.
On Monday, the US president said the war was “very complete” and would end soon. But his advisers have said the military campaign is just beginning and will continue until all its objectives are met.
Asked which assessment is true, Trump told reporters Monday: “I think you could say both.”
Trump said the war marks the “beginning of building a new country,” and emphasized that Iran’s military assets have been degraded.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt reiterated on Tuesday that the US attack is progressing ahead of schedule.
“The initial timeline of the president and the US military was between four and six weeks to achieve all of the objectives of Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt said.
He added that the objectives are to “destroy their missiles and their ability to manufacture them, destroy their navy, permanently deny them nuclear weapons forever and, of course, weaken their evil terrorist proxies in the region.”
Iran has consistently denied seeking a nuclear weapon and insists its nuclear program is peaceful, while Israel is widely believed to possess a covert nuclear arsenal.
Following the US attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, Trump claimed that Washington had “destroyed” the Iranian nuclear program.
On Tuesday, Leavitt said Trump will decide when war goals, including Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” will be met.
“President Trump will determine when Iran is in a position of unconditional surrender, when it no longer poses a credible and direct threat to the United States of America and our allies,” he said.
