U.S. casualties mount as fighting with Iran intensifies

Defense officials say about 140 U.S. troops have been wounded since the fighting began.

(NBC)-  The human toll of the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran is becoming clearer as new figures from the Pentagon reveal mounting casualties

among American service members.

Defense officials say about 140 U.S. troops have been wounded since the fighting began. More than 100 of those service members have already returned to duty, but eight remain severely injured, and seven Americans have been killed.

The rising casualty numbers are intensifying calls for the administration to outline a clearer plan for how the conflict will end.

“Pres

ident Trump will determine when Iran is in a place of unconditional surrender, when they no longer pose a credible and direct threat,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also emphasized that the president is controlling the pace of the military response.

“He gets to control the throttle. He’s the one deciding,” Hegseth said.

U.S. military operations are increasingly focused on Iran’s naval forces, particularly in the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for global energy supplies. The Pentagon released video it says shows U.S. forces destroying 16 Iranian vessels used to lay naval mines near the strait, an area where roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply normally passes through.

The fighting has effectively choked off shipping through the waterway, sending global oil and gas prices sharply higher.

Iran has threatened to block energy exports from the region entirely unless attacks against it stop.

Despite the escalating conflict, President Donald Trump said the United States is already making progress.

“We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” Trump said.

Some lawmakers remain skeptical about the administration’s messaging on the war’s trajectory.

“Which is it, is the war ending soon, or are we on the brink of the worst fighting yet?” asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The debate is also spilling into the broader political landscape.

Podcaster Joe Rogan, one of the president’s most influential supporters, recently questioned the justification for the war.

“He ran on no more wars and these stupid, senseless wars. And then we have one that we can’t even really clearly define why we did it,” Rogan said.

The administration maintains it is achieving its strategic goals, including destroying Iran’s missile capabilities and weakening its navy.

Pentagon officials say U.S. forces have now struck more than 5,000 targets during the campaign.