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- Four US servicemembers have been killed so far in the war with Iran, officials say.
- The defense secretary said it was due to a 'powerful' Iranian weapon breaking through defenses.
- Iran has been targeting US bases in retaliation for US and Israeli strikes on the country.
The four US service members killed in the war with Iran were hit by a "powerful" Iranian weapon that broke through air defenses, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday.
He said at a press conference that while US air defenses stop most attacks, "every once in a while you might have one, unfortunately —we call it a squirter — that makes its way through. And in that particular case, it happened to hit a tactical operation center."
He said that the center "was fortified, but these are powerful weapons." He said that having "incredible air defenders" has allowed the US to intercept most attacks.
Iran has wielded its vast arsenal of drones and missiles to strike at US allies across the region. News of the fourth US service member's death came the same day that three US F-15 fighters were shot down in an apparent friendly fire incident.
US Central Command said earlier that four American servicemen had been killed during the combat operations against Iran. The US has been in the process of notifying the troops' families and has not released their names.
Hegseth did not say what Iranian weapon was used or what the location was. Multiple news outlets, including CNN, The Washington Post, and Reuters, reported that it was in Kuwait.
Iran has fired thousands of missiles and drones in retaliation for US and Israeli forces striking Iran in a major operation that began on Saturday. It has targeted US bases in Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE, as well as targeting other neighboring countries like Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
US and Israeli strikes, using bombs, fighter jets, and stealth jets, targeted Iranian command and control centers, missile launch sites, and warships, along with other military targets, and killed its supreme leader along with other officials. They have also killed civilians, including what Iran says was at least 165 killed in a strike on a girls' elementary school.
The US brought air defenses to the region, expecting Iranian retaliation: Patriot surface-to-air missile systems and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, and destroyers with Aegis combat systems. Many of the nations attacked in the region also use US-made air defenses, and report being able to intercept most Iranian attacks, though there have been deaths and damage.
Air defense is difficult: Trying to stop a huge barrage of attacks with little notice and without hitting friendly or civilian aircraft. And Iran has a large weapons arsenal, which means the US and its allies can't afford for their defensive missile stockpiles to run low. There's also a cost mismatch: Iran's drones can cost $30,000, while each air defense interceptor missile costs millions.
This conflict is even more evidence, after wars like Russia's invasion of Ukraine, that modern war requires a vast array of defenses — something NATO says it doesn't have enough of.
Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Monday that "our integrated air and missile defense network is performing exactly as it's intended.
"US Patriot and THAAD batteries, along with ballistic missile defense-capable Navy destroyers, continue to coordinate and execute intercepts with precision and consistency."
The US has warned that more American losses may still follow.
President Donald Trump on Sunday said that there would "sadly" be more American losses, and paid tribute to those who had been killed. He said that "As one nation, we grieve for the true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives."
Hegseth on Monday said that "as the president warned, an effort of this scope will include casualties. War is hell, and always will be."
He said that a "grateful nation honors the four Americans we have lost thus far and those injured," calling them "the absolute best of America."
