The U.S. military’s war with Iran is now in its 11th day — and on Tuesday, American officials promised it would also be its most violent.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that Tuesday would mark the most intense day of American strikes inside Iran, even as the Pentagon confirmed the human cost of the conflict is climbing steadily. With seven U.S. service members now dead, roughly 140 wounded, and the price tag already surpassing $5 billion in munitions over just the first two days, the operation the White House calls “limited in scope” is starting to look anything but.
The Casualties Are Real — And Growing
The Pentagon has confirmed that approximately 140 U.S. service members have been wounded since the start of the conflict, with eight currently listed as severely injured. The military was careful to note that “the vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty,” but that framing doesn’t erase the toll. Seven American soldiers are dead — all Army, according to the Pentagon — including the most recently identified, Sgt. Benjamin Pennington, killed in a March 1 attack. Several were from the 103rd Sustainment Command.
U.S. Central Command’s Gen. Dan Caine didn’t sugarcoat it. “We expect to take additional losses,” he said, “and as always, we will work to minimize U.S. losses. But, as the secretary said, this is major combat operations.” The operation has an official name — Operation Epic Fury — and U.S. Central Command confirmed the seventh death with a blunt statement: “This is the seventh service member killed in action during Operation Epic Fury.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed 650 American troops killed or wounded — a figure the U.S. has flatly refuted, pointing to its own confirmed numbers. Casualty figures in active conflict are always contested. But the gap between 650 and 7 is wide enough to raise eyebrows on both ends.
The Strike on a Girls School — and the Investigation That Followed
Then there’s the incident nobody in Washington seems eager to discuss head-on. A U.S. strike killed 165 people at what has been described as an Iranian girls school, triggering an ongoing Department of Defense investigation. Republican Sen. Mike Rounds addressed it carefully. “They have a timeline in which they want to be able to provide us with a full report,” he said, adding: “We are a nation that does not target civilians.”
That may be true as a matter of doctrine. Whether it holds as a matter of outcome is precisely what investigators are now trying to determine. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also weighed in separately on a related controversy — President Trump’s claim that Iran possessed Tomahawk missiles — defending him by saying “the president has a right to share his opinions with the American public,” while noting he “has said he’ll accept the conclusion of that investigation.”
“Short-Term.” “A Temporary Blip.” Sure.
How bad is it, really? Depends on who you ask — and how generously you’re willing to interpret their words. President Donald Trump has described the military operation as a “short-term” excursion, while House Speaker Mike Johnson called it “by design limited in scope and mission,” adding confidently that “it’s nearly completed.” Rising gas prices, Johnson suggested, are just “a temporary blip.”
At the same time, Trump threatened significantly escalated strikes if Iran moves to close the Strait of Hormuz — a threat that carries real economic weight. He also claimed the U.S. has completely destroyed 10 inactive Iranian mine-laying vessels in the strait. Gen. Caine reported no requests yet for tanker escorts through the waterway, and said missile attacks on U.S. forces are down 90%, with drone attacks down 83% — figures the Pentagon presented as evidence the campaign is working.
Still, Wikipedia’s running casualty table for what it’s cataloging as the 2026 Iran War lists 9 Americans killed and 140 injured, with the conflict costing an estimated $890 million to $1 billion per day. That’s not a blip. That’s a bill.
Americans Are Leaving — and Polling Shows Why
More than 40,000 Americans have returned from the Middle East since the war began, the State Department confirmed, though charter evacuation flights are running at under 40% occupancy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio authorized up to $40 million in emergency funds for evacuation charters and waived reimbursement requirements — a sign the government is taking the exodus seriously even if the planes aren’t full.
Back home, the public isn’t exactly rallying behind the effort. About half of Americans say they worry the country is less safe as a result of the military action, and a Quinnipiac poll found that 53% oppose the operation outright. That’s a notable headwind for an administration insisting the whole thing is almost over.
Russia, Iran, and a Question of Trust
On the diplomatic front, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff reported that Russian officials told the administration they are not sharing intelligence with Iran. “We can take them at their word,” Witkoff said — a sentence that will either age well or very poorly, depending on how the next few weeks unfold.
Iran, meanwhile, isn’t projecting fear. Senior official Ali Larijani took to X to deliver a pointed message to Trump: “The sacrificial nation of Iran doesn’t fear your empty threats. Even those bigger than you couldn’t eliminate Iran. Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.”
It’s the kind of rhetoric that sounds like bluster — until the day it isn’t. With the Pentagon promising the most intense strikes yet, seven American soldiers already buried, and the meter running at nearly a billion dollars a day, the White House’s insistence that this is nearly over is either a promise or a prayer. Right now, it’s hard to tell which.
