WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that American combat operations in Iran were continuing “in full force” and would persist until Washington achieves all of its war objectives.
In a video statement posted on his Truth Social platform, Trump confirmed that three US service members had been killed in the operation and warned that further casualties were likely.
“Combat operations continue at this time in full force, and they will continue until all of our objectives are achieved. We have very strong objectives,” Trump said.
He added: “Sadly there will likely be more. That’s the way it is.”
The three deaths are the first known American fatalities since the United States began striking Iran on Saturday.
The US military said five other personnel were seriously wounded, while others suffered minor injuries and were returning to duty.
‘Massive Operation’
Trump described the campaign as a large-scale effort aimed at dismantling Iran’s military capabilities and preventing it from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Tehran has repeatedly denied seeking to build a nuclear bomb and has described US strikes as acts of aggression.
“We are undertaking a massive operation, not merely to ensure security for our own time and place, but for our children and their children,” Trump said.
“These actions are right, and they are necessary to ensure Americans will never have to face a radical regime, armed with nuclear weapons.”
President Donald J. Trump provides an update on Operation Epic Fury: pic.twitter.com/Vte8QKpISn
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 1, 2026
In remarks reported by NBC News, Trump said: “We expect casualties with something like this. We have three, but we expect casualties — but in the end it’s going to be a great deal for the world.”
He added that Washington would “avenge” the deaths of US troops and “deliver the most punishing blow” to what he called the Iranian regime.
Over 1,000 sites struck
Earlier on Sunday, United States Central Command (Centcom) said more than 1,000 Iranian targets had been struck in the first 24 hours of what Washington has named Operation Epic Fury.
In a fact sheet, Centcom said the operation involved stealth bombers, fighter aircraft, drones and anti-missile systems.
Targets included command and control centres, ballistic missile launch sites and the joint headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier that the first day of operations had produced “highly significant achievements”.
Trump directly appealed to members of Iran’s security forces, urging them to surrender.
“I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military and police to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death,” he said. “It will be certain death. It won’t be pretty.”
Trump also reiterated previous calls for regime change, saying one possible outcome of the campaign would be “decapitating” Iran’s leadership.
Talks still possible
Despite the escalation, Trump indicated that diplomacy had not been ruled out.
According to NBC News, he said Iranian officials were interested in continuing talks but declined to say whether the United States would pause strikes to facilitate negotiations.
“I don’t know… if they can satisfy us,” Trump said.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said he ordered the strikes because Iran was unwilling to halt its nuclear programme.
“They weren’t willing to stop their nuclear research. They weren’t willing to say they will not have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
Asked whether strikes would cease if Tehran returned to negotiations, Trump said he would be open “if they can satisfy us”.
He told the Daily Mail the military operation against Iran could last “four weeks — or less”.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran
The comments came as fighting intensified between US and Israeli forces and Iran.
The US and Israel launched fresh strikes on Tehran on Sunday night while Iran responded with new waves of missiles and drones on Israel and across the region.
The Israeli military said it carried out large-scale strikes targeting command centres and security infrastructure in Tehran.
In a statement on Telegram, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had “dismantled the Iranian Combat Headquarters” and struck IRGC intelligence and air force command centres.
The IDF said more than 1,200 munitions had been dropped across 24 of Iran’s 31 provinces over the past day in coordination with US forces.
Iranian media reported that Israeli strikes hit a hospital in northern Tehran, causing severe damage and prompting evacuations.
There were no immediate confirmed reports of casualties at the hospital.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has called reports of the Gandhi Hospital in Tehran being hit by bombardments “extremely worrying”.
“[The WHO] is working to verify the incident. But it serves as a reminder that all efforts must be taken to prevent health facilities from being caught up in the ongoing conflict,” Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.
“Health facilities are protected under international humanitarian law. Health is not a target.”
Reports of Tehran's Gandhi Hospital being damaged during today’s bombardment of the Iranian capital are extremely worrying.@WHO is working to verify the incident. But it serves as a reminder that all efforts must be taken to prevent health facilities from being caught up in the…
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 1, 2026
Iran fires missiles on Israel and across region
Iran responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US military facilities across the Middle East.
The IRGC said it had launched attacks on 27 bases hosting US troops, as well as Israeli military sites in Tel Aviv and other cities.
Explosions and air raid sirens were reported in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa.
Israel’s emergency service Magen David Adom said it was treating several wounded in the Jerusalem area after missile impacts and falling debris.
In Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, Israeli authorities said eight people were killed in a ballistic missile strike.
At least 121 others have been injured across Israel since the attacks began, local officials said.
Israel’s Channel 12 reported damage to buildings near Tel Aviv after missile debris fell in the area.
Police urged residents to avoid impact sites while rescue teams operated.
Iran said it had also launched strikes across Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, targeting locations where US forces are deployed.
Most of the projectiles were intercepted, regional authorities said.
War deaths in Iran
Iranian state media, citing the Iranian Red Crescent Society, said at least 201 people had been killed and 747 injured in Israeli and US strikes as of Sunday morning.
The deadliest reported incident was a strike on a girls’ school in Minab in southern Iran.
Iranian news agency IRNA later said the death toll in that attack had risen to 165, with 96 injured.
Israel’s army said it was not aware of any strike in the area, while the US military said it was reviewing the reports.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told ABC News that Tehran would set “no limit” to its response.
“We are defending ourselves — whatever it takes,” he said. “What the United States is doing is an act of aggression. What we are doing is the act of self-defence.”
Diplomatic channels remain open
Despite the escalating conflict, Oman said diplomatic efforts had not collapsed.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the “door to diplomacy remains open” after recent talks in Geneva between US and Iranian officials.
“War should not mean that the hope of peace is extinguished,” he wrote on X, urging Washington not to be drawn further into conflict.
I want to be very clear – the door to diplomacy remains open. Talks in Geneva made genuine progress towards an unprecedented agreement between Iran and the United States and although the hope was to avoid war, war should not mean that the hope of peace is extinguished. I still…
— Badr Albusaidi – بدر البوسعيدي (@badralbusaidi) March 1, 2026
Earlier, Trump told The Atlantic that he had agreed to hold talks with Iran’s new leadership, saying they “want to talk” but had “waited too long”.
He did not specify when discussions might take place.
Earlier, Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told his Omani counterpart, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, that Tehran is open to any “serious efforts at de-escalation”.
The statement emphasised the importance of addressing the crisis’s causes, halting military operations and returning to diplomacy.
Oman has served as a mediator in past nuclear negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
