Trump vows Iran will pay ‘many times over’ after U.S. troop deaths
WASHINGTON (Axadle) — U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed that Iran will “pay” after multiple American service members were killed in weekend attacks, signaling that Tehran could face a forceful response.
“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump wrote Monday on social media. He said the order had been relayed to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Daniel Caine, and other top military officials.
The warning followed the ninth straight night of U.S. airstrikes against Iran. The Pentagon said a U.S. service member died in Iraq during a “controlled detonation” involving an Iranian drone that had been brought down.
The U.S. military separately named two soldiers who were killed in Jordan on Friday while confronting Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.
Those deaths brought the number of U.S. troops killed in the conflict to 17. Nearly 430 others have been injured since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began five months ago.
With the conflict moving into its second week, Washington widened its campaign against Iran, striking bridges, electrical infrastructure and other strategic locations. Iran responded Monday by attacking U.S. allies Kuwait and Bahrain, both of which host American forces. Bahrain is also home to the headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
The White House said Trump planned to attend dignified transfer ceremonies for the fallen service members at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Trump has threatened in recent weeks to broaden the U.S. target list inside Iran, potentially including energy infrastructure, bridges, the Kharg Island oil hub and a deeply buried nuclear-related facility.
Sources said the newest rounds of U.S. strikes are also intended to erode Iranian military capabilities that Washington would want destroyed before any possible expansion into larger-scale operations.
The mounting conflict and its financial toll are likely to take center stage at a U.S. congressional hearing Tuesday, when Hegseth and Gen. Caine are due to testify.
AXADLETM
