Number of service members killed in action rises to six

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
The Center Square

The number of American service members killed in action as part of Operation Epic Fury has climbed from four to six, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio vows “the hardest hits are yet to come from the U.S. military.”

CENTCOM announced that two additional service members had been killed in action who had been previously unaccounted for “from a facility that was struck during Iran’s initial attacks.”

In addition, CENTCOM is reporting that all 11 Iranian ships in the Gulf of Oman have been destroyed, as the U.S. struck more than 1,250 Iranian Targets since the operation was launched in the early morning hours on Saturday.

Rubio was on Capitol Hill Monday to brief the Gang of Eight, which includes House and Senate leadership and the chairs of House and Senate intelligence committees.

The secretary warned that the offensive against the Islamic regime is ramping up.

“The next phase will be even more punishing on Iran that it is now … The world will be a safer place when we’re done with this operation,” Rubio told reporters.

Rubio defended the Trump administration’s decision to launch strikes, even as the administration has come under fire from most Democrats and some Republicans. He indicated the strikes were preemptive, citing the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic threat.

“There was absolutely an imminent threat,” said Rubio. “We knew that if Iran was attacked – they knew they would immediately come after us, and we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded … We went proactively, in a defensive way, to prevent them from inflicting higher damage,” the secretary told reporters. “Had we not done so, there would have been hearings on Capitol Hill about how we knew that this was going to happen and we didn’t act preemptively to prevent more casualties and more loss of life.”

During a Medal of Honor Ceremony held in the East Room of the White House Monday morning, President Donald Trump delivered some remarks on the operation, defending the strikes.

“Our objectives are clear. First we’re destroying Iran’s missile capabilities…Second, we’re annihilating their navy…Third we’re ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon,” said the president during the somber White House ceremony.

Rubio echoed the president’s sentiments while addressing concerns about regime change in Iran.

“We hope that the Iranian people can overthrow this government. We would love for that to be possible—but the objective for this mission is the destruction of their ballistic capabilities and their naval capabilities,” Rubio made clear.

As the president and secretary of state continue to make the case for the operation, the Department of State has issued a “depart now” list for over a dozen Middle Eastern countries, where a majority have seen some attack from Iranian forces since the strikes began. The countries include: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel (the West Bank and Gaza), Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.