Gambiaj.com – (WASHINGTON D.C, United States) – A fourth United States service member has died after succumbing to injuries sustained during Iran’s initial attack, the US military announced on Sunday, marking a further escalation in the ongoing hostilities between Washington and Tehran.
In a statement posted on X, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said that “as of 7:30 am ET, March 2, four U.S. service members have been killed in action.” The statement added that the fourth service member, who had been seriously wounded during Iran’s initial strikes, “eventually succumbed to their injuries.”
According to a US official and a source familiar with the situation cited by CNN, all four fatalities occurred in the same attack in Kuwait that had earlier claimed the lives of three other service members.
CENTCOM indicated that the identities of the fallen personnel will be withheld for 24 hours pending notification of their next of kin.
The updated casualty figures follow an earlier announcement on Sunday that three service members had been killed and five seriously wounded.
The latest tally now stands at four killed and 18 seriously wounded in the course of US military operations against Iran, according to CENTCOM spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins.
In a separate development, the US military disclosed that three American fighter jets were accidentally shot down by Kuwaiti air defenses in what it described as an “apparent friendly fire incident.” No further details were immediately provided regarding potential casualties linked to that incident.
The mounting losses come amid heightened regional tensions after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran. Tehran has maintained that its retaliatory actions are directed at US bases and associated facilities in the Gulf region and Jordan, rather than at the Gulf Arab states themselves.
Meanwhile, commentary published on the Nour Telegram channel, an outlet close to Iran’s security establishment and reported by the official Iranian media outlet Islamic Republic News Agency, warned Gulf Arab countries against relying on US security guarantees.
In an analysis titled “Lessons of War and the Future of Arab Security in the Persian Gulf,” the channel argued that the presence of advanced US military systems and forces in the region does not guarantee the national security of host countries.
It suggested that Washington prioritizes Israel’s security interests over those of Arab Gulf states and warned that nations hosting US bases could be “sacrificed to foreign strategic interests.”
The commentary urged Gulf countries to draw lessons from the conflict and develop “sustainable security based on common interests” to avoid exposure to external geopolitical calculations.
