Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that more casualties are expected in the ongoing Operation Epic Fury in Iran, with seven U.S. soldiers having been killed so far in the fighting.
Hegseth made the comment during an interview with CBS’ "60 Minutes" that aired on Sunday.
"The president's been right to say there will be casualties," Hegseth said. "Things like this don't happen without casualties."
"There will be more casualties," he continued. "And no one is — I mean, especially our generation knows what it's like to see Americans come home in caskets, it's — but that doesn't weaken us one bit. It stiffens our spine and our resolve to say this is a fight we will finish."
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Six U.S. service members were killed in a March 1 Iranian drone attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, while supporting Operation Epic Fury. The U.S. military said a seventh service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1.
The U.S. and Israel last week launched joint strikes against Iran. Iran has retaliated, launching strikes against Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi on Sunday told NBC News’ "Meet the Press" that if the U.S. deploys ground troops in Iran, "we have very brave soldiers who are waiting for any enemy who enters into our soil, to fight with them and to kill them and destroy them."
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"We never give up, we never surrender, and we continue to resist as long as it takes," he said. "We continue to defend ourselves, and we are defending our territory, our people and our dignity. And our dignity is not for sale."
When reporters asked President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One on Saturday about potential ground troops being used in the Iran operation, the president said there would "have to be a very good reason."
"And I would say if we ever did that, [Iran] would be so decimated they wouldn't be able to fight at the ground level," Trump told reporters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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