File image.
Both the United States and Israel suffered casualties on March 1 as a result of Iranian missile and drone strikes that began a day earlier in response to their joint attack.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that three American soldiers were killed and five others were seriously wounded by Iranian fire. The troops mark the first American casualties reported in the ongoing conflict with the Islamic Republic.
The command did not provide further details on the circumstances that led to the deaths and injuries of the American troops.
“Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions and are in the process of being returned to duty,” CENTCOM said, adding that “major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing.”
Iran has targeted American bases across the Middle East with missiles and drones over the past day, and around the same time CENTCOM acknowledged the casualties, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that they had attacked the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea.
“The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was struck by four ballistic missiles,” the Guards said in a statement carried by local media, warning that the “the land and sea will increasingly become the graveyard of the terrorist aggressors.”
Separately, the guards confirmed that they had struck three tankers off the Persian Gulf. Two of the tankers, the Marshall Islands-flagged crude oil tanker MKD VYOM and the Palau-flagged Skylight, were both hit close to Oman. The third tanker that is yet to be identified was hit close to the United Arab Emirates.
Over the past day, several waves of missile and drone attacks targeted the UAE, in addition to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan. Even Oman which mediated in talks between Iran and the U.S. was the target of at least one attack.
CENTCOM didn’t address the attacks on the tankers, which de facto closed the strategic Strait of Hurmoz, but it denied that its aircraft carrier was hit.
“The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close,” the command said in a statement.
“The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime,” it added.
Separately, a U.S. defense official told Fox News that the American military used B-2 stealth bombers in recent strikes on Iran.
According to the official, four B-2 bombers flew round-trip from the U.S. and “dropped dozens of “2-000-lb bombs” on underground ballistic missile sites in Iran.”
The Fox News report came after analysts monitoring open-source flight tracking data revealed that B-2 bombers had been used in recent strikes on Iran. CENTCOM has confirmed the operation, without providing any details. It is very possible that the bomber raid was carried out in response to the death of the American troops.
In addition, CENTCOM announced that it sank an Iranian Navy Jamaran-class corvette. The vessel was apparently the same seen burning in satellite images released by Vantor a day earlier.
Click to see full-size image. (Vantor\X)
At the start of the attack on Islamic Republic, U.S. President Donald Trump set the destruction of the Iranian Navy as one of the main goals.
“The ship is currently sinking to the bottom of the Gulf of Oman at a Chah Bahar pier,” the command said in a brief statement.
Meanwhile in Israel, at least nine were killed when an Iranian missile hit the settlement of Beit Shemesh in the center of the country.
Beit Shemesh Mayor Shmuel Greenberg told Hebrew media that there are 20 residents that have not been able to be reached. He noted however that “it does not necessarily mean anything happened to them.” Many others were wounded in the same strike.
Over the past day multiple waves of missile attacks targeted Israel. A woman killed a day earlier was identified by Hebrew media as a Filipina national. The total number of casualties remains unclear, and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) is yet to provide details on the attacks as it did during the June war last year.
The IDF did, however, provide details on its operations against Iran, saying that it carried out over 700 strikes against targets there, including missile launchers, air defenses, command centers and headquarters of the Iranian government. It also said that 50 drones launched from the Islamic Republic were intercepted.
Earlier in the day, the IDF said that it had destroyed the headquarters of Iran’s internal security forces amid a wave of strikes in the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Overall, the battle is heating up. Iranian operations are becoming more serious. Yet, the U.S. and Israel appear to be ready to double down.
Fighting could go on for several more days, or even weeks. The Islamic Republic is not expected to make any concessions for the time being, at least not before avenging the death of its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and restoring some form of deterrence.
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so then, japan was defending the japanese people when they attacked pearl harbor on december 7th also while at the same time “negotiating” falsely with diplomats.
japan attacked china a decade before pearl harbor…. iran attacked nobody.
you must be an inferior species americunt–stupid ignorant
america put heavy sanctions on japan
they died for israel, not america.
americunts are all inferior species designed to scrub jew toilets and bend over for mulatto peniz to squirt jizz in their anuz
the amerikunts will soon run out of cruise missiles and vital categories of weapons. iran is already hitting back hard and they’ve only just started. carrier attacked. many casualties in missile attacks in jrerusalem and west bank. 3 tankers hit. a couple of days ago 20 million barrels a day passed through hormuz. today – zero barrels. chumpo will soon be begging putin and xi to end the war he started.
putin and xi pig are doing nothing! yes i am very hungry with them. very!