18 US troops killed, 757 wounded since start of Iran war, Pentagon says

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than a dozen American service members have been killed since the outbreak of the Iran war in late February, a US defense department database showed Thursday, with more than 750 others wounded. This comes as US President Donald Trump on the same day vowed to launch “the most crushing economic operation ever” against Tehran. 

The Department’s Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) showed that the combined death toll across its Operation Epic Fury and Overseas Operations categories reached 18, while the latest update added more than 50 newly recorded injuries, bringing the total wounded to 757 service members since the start of the conflict with Tehran.

The US launched Operation Epic Fury jointly with Israel in late February, striking thousands of targets over six weeks. Tehran responded with drone and missile strikes across the Middle East, targeting alleged US assets - particularly in Gulf Arab states - while also hitting Israel.

A preliminary ceasefire mediated by Pakistan followed in early April, with the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding signed in mid-June formalizing a halt to hostilities on all fronts.

However, the truce has since been tested by several rounds of strikes and counterstrikes, the latest of which escalated on July 8 before subsiding later that month. Washington also reinstated a naval blockade of Iranian ports in July.

Importantly, the US in mid-April launched the high-intensity Economic Fury campaign as the financial counterpart to Operation Epic Fury, aiming to isolate Tehran from the global financial system and cut off its remaining revenue streams.

As part of the effort, the US Treasury announced it would not renew sanctions waivers for Iranian crude oil, effectively criminalizing its purchase, including stranded oil at sea. Washington also warned global banks that facilitating transactions for Tehran would trigger secondary sanctions and loss of access to the US dollar.

The US President on Thursday vowed to launch "the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country" against Iran, describing the move as "economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale."

In a Truth Social post, Trump warned that "any country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran will itself face tremendous economic consequences," adding that "oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies - it all needs to stop now."

The US commander-in-chief attributed the escalation to Tehran's failure to reach a deal with Washington, stating, “No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to make a deal than me. Tragically, for them, they have failed to take it,” he said.