The Pentagon dropped a grim new accounting of the human cost of America’s war with Iran on Tuesday, revealing that approximately 140 U.S. service members have been wounded since Operation Epic Fury launched on February 28 — a figure that sources tell Reuters may actually be closer to 150.
It’s Day 11 of the largest American military operation since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the numbers are adding up fast — in blood, in dollars, and in political headaches for the White House.
The Casualty Count Climbs
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that of the roughly 140 wounded, eight service members are currently classified as severely injured. The “vast majority” of injuries were described as minor, with 108 troops already returned to duty.
But the headline number — 140 wounded in just 10 days of combat — represents the clearest picture yet of what American forces are enduring in the Persian Gulf theater. Add to that seven U.S. service members killed in action, including Army Major Sorffly Davius of Cambria Heights, New York, whose flag-draped transfer case arrived at Dover Air Force Base on March 9.
The wounded are largely casualties of Iranian drone and missile strikes — the same asymmetric weapons that Tehran has been stockpiling for exactly this kind of scenario.
$900 Million Per Day — And Counting
If the human cost is sobering, the financial toll is staggering. According to a new analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Operation Epic Fury is burning through nearly $900 million per day, driven primarily by the massive expenditure of precision munitions.
The Pentagon informed congressional committees on Monday that the U.S. military used $5.6 billion in munitions during just the first two days of strikes against Iran. CSIS estimates the first 100 hours alone cost approximately $3.7 billion.
With the operation now past the 10-day mark, total costs are rapidly approaching — and likely exceeding — $9 billion. The Pentagon will soon need to request supplemental funding from Congress, as most of this spending falls outside the current defense budget.
U.S. forces have now struck over 3,000 targets across Iran, according to CENTCOM, including missile launchers, drone bases, naval vessels, air defense systems, and military communications infrastructure.
What’s Been Destroyed
By any conventional military measure, Operation Epic Fury has been devastating for Iran’s armed forces. According to updates from President Trump’s March 9 press conference at Trump National Doral and Pentagon briefings throughout the week:
- 50+ Iranian naval ships destroyed, effectively eliminating Iran’s ability to threaten shipping in the Strait of Hormuz
- Iran’s air force and anti-aircraft systems decimated
- The Shahed Aviation Industries Production Facility in Isfahan — which manufactured the Shahed-136, Shahed-129, and Shahed-171 drones — confirmed destroyed via satellite imagery
- IRGC Drone Command Headquarters struck by IDF airstrikes on March 9
- IRGC headquarters and Law Enforcement Command police stations hit across multiple provinces, including Khorramabad in Lorestan Province
- Basij bases in Kermanshah and Tehran provinces targeted — notably, bases reportedly involved in suppressing the December 2025-January 2026 Iranian protests
Israel, operating under its parallel Operation Roaring Lion, launched fresh strikes on Tehran on Tuesday, with the IDF confirming an “additional wave” of strikes on Iranian targets.
Iran Hits Back — And Refuses to Surrender
Despite the overwhelming firepower directed at it, Iran is far from capitulating. The Islamic Republic has fired over 500 ballistic missiles at U.S. and Israeli positions since the conflict began, according to Fars News Agency.
Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei — who assumed power after his father Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial February 28 strikes — has shown no signs of backing down. The IRGC declared last week that “we will decide when this war ends,” while Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf dismissed any suggestion of seeking a ceasefire.
Iran’s UN ambassador reported a death toll of over 1,300 people and claimed that almost 10,000 civilian sites had been hit, including approximately 8,000 residential homes — numbers that Western officials have not independently confirmed.
The conflict has also spilled beyond Iran’s borders. Israel struck IRGC Quds Force commanders operating from a Ramada hotel in Beirut’s seaside Rawche area on March 8, ending a yearlong ceasefire with Lebanon and targeting Hezbollah once again. Lebanese leaders and aid groups are warning of a growing humanitarian crisis.
Conflicting Messages From the White House
Perhaps the most telling development on Day 11 isn’t on the battlefield — it’s in Washington. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Trump administration officials are sending conflicting signals about the war’s objectives and timeline.
President Trump told CBS News on Sunday that the war is “very complete, pretty much,” and predicted it would end “very soon” with lower oil prices to follow. Yet Secretary of War Pete Hegseth promised that Tuesday would be the “most intense day” of U.S. strikes yet — hardly the language of a winding-down operation.
At a March 4 Pentagon briefing, Hegseth declared that Iran “cannot outlast” the United States, while CJCS General Dan Caine provided battle damage assessments showing continued expansion of the target list into strategic communications infrastructure and hardened military facilities.
The mixed messaging comes as public support for the strikes remains historically low. A New York Times analysis found that support for the Iran operation is “far lower than what it has been at the beginnings of previous foreign conflicts” — a notable departure from the traditional rally-around-the-flag effect that accompanied past U.S. military actions.
The Global Fallout
The war’s ripple effects continue to spread far beyond the Middle East:
- Oil prices remain volatile, with gas prices in the U.S. jumping nearly 20% since the conflict began
- Global travel disrupted: Flights in and out of the Middle East were halted, with Emirates only recently resuming departures from Dubai
- Shipping rerouted: Commercial vessels are avoiding the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea
- Intelligence concerns: CNN and the Washington Post reported that Russia has been providing Iran with intelligence on U.S. targeting, raising the specter of a proxy dimension to the conflict
- UK drawn in: An Iranian drone struck Britain’s RAF base in Cyprus, while the UK, France, and other Western nations have urged against further conflict expansion
The House of Representatives voted on March 5 to allow Operation Epic Fury to continue, defeating a war powers resolution that would have required the president to withdraw U.S. forces.
What Comes Next
As the conflict enters its second full week, the fundamental question remains unanswered: What does “victory” look like?
The stated U.S. objectives — regime change, destruction of Iran’s nuclear program, and elimination of its ballistic missile capability — are ambitious goals that historically require sustained engagement far beyond an air campaign. Trump has suggested the timeline could be “four or five weeks,” but military analysts note that the expanding target list and Iran’s continued retaliatory capability suggest a longer engagement.
With 7 Americans dead, 140 wounded, costs approaching $9 billion, a new supreme leader in Tehran showing no interest in surrender, and public opinion running against the operation, the administration faces mounting pressure to define not just how this war is being fought — but how it ends.
Funerals for several top Iranian commanders killed in the U.S.-Israeli strikes are scheduled for Wednesday, according to IRNA, Iran’s state news agency — a reminder that even as Washington debates costs and timelines, the war’s human toll continues to mount on both sides of the battlefield.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as the situation evolves.
Sources: AP News, Reuters, Pentagon/CENTCOM statements, The New York Times, Washington Post, Politico, CSIS, Fox News, CBS News, The Guardian, BBC, ISW