There have been three American soldier casualties, and five more have been seriously wounded.
Others are nursing shrapnel injuries and concussions. And the president who sent them into harm’s way never bothered to ask Congress for permission.
U.S. Central Command confirmed Sunday morning that three American troops were killed in action and five others seriously injured during Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli military assault on Iran that began with predawn strikes on Saturday.
The fallen soldiers were part of an Army sustainment unit based in Kuwait — one of several American facilities in the Middle East that came under Iranian retaliatory fire after the United States and Israel launched a massive bombardment campaign against Iran.
Their names have not been released. CENTCOM said it would withhold the identities of the fallen “until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.”
What we do know is that these were the first American combat deaths of a war that President Trump started without a single vote in Congress — and one he has already warned will produce more casualties.
“We Expect Casualties With Something Like This”
That was Trump’s response when asked about the three dead Americans by NBC News on Sunday.
He followed it up with the kind of cold calculus that treats human lives like a line item in a deal: “We have three, but we expect casualties — but in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world.”
A great deal for the world. Not for the three families who will receive a knock on their door from a military notification officer.
Not for the five troops lying in military hospitals with serious wounds. Not for the others still picking shrapnel out of their skin.
In an earlier video posted Saturday to Truth Social, Trump acknowledged the possibility of American deaths but framed it as noble sacrifice.
He said his administration had “taken every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel,” adding that casualties “often happen in war” and calling the operation “a noble mission.”
On Sunday evening, in a follow-up video address, Trump said bluntly that “there will likely be more” U.S. casualties.
A War No One in Congress Voted For
Operation Epic Fury — which the Pentagon says has struck more than 1,000 targets across Iran in just two days — was launched without congressional authorization. The Constitution grants Congress alone the power to declare war.
Trump ignored that requirement entirely.
Democrats and at least some Republicans are furious. Congress is expected to vote this week on bipartisan war powers resolutions in both chambers aimed at blocking further military action unless Trump obtains proper authorization.
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, the lead sponsor of the Senate’s resolution, called the operation “an illegal war” during an appearance on Fox News Sunday.
“The Constitution says no declaration of war without Congress,” Kaine said. “The president has called this war against Iran.”
In the House, Representatives Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, and Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, are pushing their own bipartisan resolution.
“Congress must reconvene on Monday to vote on Thomas Massie and my war powers resolution to stop this war,” Khanna said in a video posted to social media.
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Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut was even more direct on CBS’s Face the Nation: “This is a disaster, it is illegal, and the president is obligated under the Constitution to come to Congress and ask for an authorization of military force.”
But here is the grim political reality: even if both chambers pass war powers resolutions, Trump will almost certainly veto them, and Congress does not have the two-thirds majority needed to override.
The vote would be largely symbolic — a statement of principle from lawmakers whose constitutional authority has been steamrolled.
What Happened in Kuwait
The three American soldier casualties happened when Iranian retaliatory strikes hit their location in Kuwait.
Iran launched waves of missiles and drones at U.S. bases and allied nations across the Middle East in response to Operation Epic Fury, targeting facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.
Kuwait’s defense ministry reported that Ali al-Salem Air Base came under attack from ballistic missiles, while a drone strike hit Kuwait International Airport, injuring airport employees and causing damage to a passenger terminal.
Kuwaiti air defenses intercepted 97 Iranian missiles and 283 drones during the retaliatory barrage.
Inside the Pentagon, the mood on Sunday was described by officials as “intense and paranoid.”
There is growing concern among senior leaders that the conflict could spiral out of control and extend for weeks, stretching already limited U.S. air defense stockpiles.
One person familiar with the situation told the Washington Post there is deep anxiety about the command and control of Iranian weapons now that much of the regime’s top leadership has been eliminated.
“Ahead of Schedule”
While Pentagon officials worry privately about the scope of what they have unleashed, Trump has been publicly triumphant.
He told NBC News the operation is running “ahead of schedule” and suggested the strikes could continue for “four weeks or less.”
The joint assault killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with dozens of senior military and political figures. Trump told Fox News that 48 Iranian leaders were “gone in one shot.” Israel’s military confirmed the deaths of Iran’s defense minister, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, and multiple other top officials.
But the operation has also drawn global condemnation.
Pope Leo XIV called for an end to the “spiral of violence.”
The European Union urged “maximum restraint.”
Violent protests erupted at the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, leaving at least nine dead.
In Washington, D.C., Americans took to the streets both in support of and in opposition to the strikes, while a separate “March 4 Democracy” demonstration saw protesters unfurl a banner reading “We the People” near the Capitol.
The Human Cost Is Just Beginning
Trump campaigned on being the president who would keep America out of wars. He warned during the 2024 election that Kamala Harris would start a conflict with Iran that could lead to World War III.
Stephen Miller warned voters that if elected, Harris would send their children off to fight wars in the Middle East.
Now he is the one who launched a regime-change war without congressional authorization, and American soldiers are already coming home in flag-draped coffins.
The three dead service members in Kuwait are not the last Americans who will pay the price for this decision.
Trump himself has said as much.
The question now is whether Congress will do anything meaningful to stop it — or whether the constitutional power to declare war has become nothing more than words on parchment.
For the families of three American soldiers, the answer to that question came too late.
