The U.S. Department of Defense identified two soldiers killed in a July 17 Iranian missile attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan: 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas.
A third U.S. service member died over the weekend in a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone in Iraq, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Sunday. CENTCOM also disclosed that remains likely belonging to another service member — reported missing following the Jordan attack — had been recovered.
The deaths bring to at least three the number of American service members killed in active hostilities connected to the U.S.-Iran conflict in nine days of operations. Additional service members have been wounded in separate incidents.
CENTCOM announced Sunday that it had completed its ninth consecutive evening of major air strikes targeting Iran's military infrastructure and its capability to project force through the Strait of Hormuz. Operations have focused on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval assets, missile and drone production facilities, and command-and-control nodes, according to public CENTCOM releases. Specific targets and damage assessments have not been made public.
President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States had struck Iran "very hard" in honor of the fallen troops. Speaking to reporters after returning from the FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey, Trump called the dead "great patriots" and said the weekend strikes were carried out "in their honor."
Trump had described the deaths earlier as "a shame" but framed the sacrifice as necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. "We are not going to let Iran have a nuclear bomb," the president said, according to the New York Post.
The State Department issued a worldwide caution advisory over the weekend, warning American citizens overseas they "could be targeted" by adversaries or affiliated groups in response to U.S. military operations against Iran. The department advised Americans abroad to "keep a low profile."
AAA reported the national average price for regular gasoline reached $4.003 per gallon Monday morning — the highest national average in more than a month. AAA attributed the increase in part to disruption risk in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of global oil shipments transits.
On the legislative front, Trump posted to Truth Social Sunday urging Republicans to "add Iran to the Russian Sanctions Bill," invoking the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. "That's what Lindsey wanted to do," Trump wrote. Graham died last week; his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was appointed to his Senate seat.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) offered one of the most direct Democratic critiques of the campaign in a Sunday television appearance, calling the military effort Trump's "war of choice" and a "disaster." The Democratic Party has not mounted a formal challenge under the War Powers Resolution.
Iran is also continuing to develop nuclear infrastructure underground, according to a Washington Examiner report citing recent intelligence assessments. The administration has identified a deeply buried facility near Natanz — referred to internally as "Pickaxe Mountain" — as an active site of nuclear development. Trump said Monday on Hugh Hewitt's radio program: "We're going to take out Pickaxe Mountain. Tell the Iranians to be ready." CENTCOM has not confirmed whether the site has been targeted in the current campaign. Defense analysts have raised questions about whether conventional munitions can penetrate to the depth of the facility.
Key questions without public answers as of Monday morning: the full extent of U.S. casualties across nine days of operations, whether additional service members remain unaccounted for, the current operational status of Iran's mining activity in the Strait of Hormuz, and what specific legal authority framework governs the ongoing air campaign.
Congress has not held a formal war powers debate. The nine-day air campaign against Iran represents the largest sustained U.S. combat operation since the Iraq War.
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07.22.2026