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Kuwait claims denied
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) moved to dispel claims that three American service members were killed in Kuwait by Iranian strikes, posting on X that “CLAIM: Iranian propaganda claimed today that three American service members were killed in Kuwait by strikes from Iran. FALSE,” and adding “TRUTH: There are zero reports of U.S. service member deaths or injuries in the region. All personnel are accounted for.”
The denial came after Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-aligned Fars News Agency claimed the IRGC destroyed two American High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) at a base in Kuwait, and said “unofficial sources” indicated three U.S. officers were killed and several others were hurt.
CENTCOM’s statement also followed its announcement of a third round of strikes to “degrade Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping” through the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran and the U.S. both asserting control over the strait.
The dispute over Kuwait unfolded as Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again, shutting down the path of transit for 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas exports, after the IRGC struck a Cyprus-flagged container ship, the GFS Galaxy, for using an “unauthorized route” through the strait.
Competing narratives, wider tensions
CENTCOM repeated the same core message in other coverage, stating on X that “Claims by the Islamic Republic’s propaganda apparatus that three U.S. service members were killed in Kuwait as a result of Iranian attacks are false,” and that “There are no reports of U.S. service members being killed or wounded in the region, and all personnel are accounted for.”
The IRGC-linked narrative, as described by IranWire, was that Fars alleged the IRGC targeted and destroyed U.S. HIMARS surface-to-surface missile platforms in Kuwait using drones, with “unofficial sources” saying three U.S. officers were killed and several others were wounded.
The Kuwait dispute also sat inside a broader escalation described in the same reporting, with CENTCOM announcing a third wave of strikes targeting Iranian military sites on Sunday while the Kuwaiti Army said three land border posts in the north were subjected to an “aggressive” attack causing material damage.
In parallel, the Intercept reported that Iran claimed it “demolished the U.S. Army’s surface-to-surface missile base” in Kuwait, killing three American military personnel, while CENTCOM again responded that “There are zero reports of U.S. service member deaths or injuries in the region.”
What’s at stake next
Beyond the immediate Kuwait casualty claims, the Hill described President Trump announcing the resumption of the U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, writing on Truth Social that the U.S. will be known as “the Guardian of the Hormuz Strait,” and that the U.S. will be “reimbursed” 20 percent on all cargo shipped “as a matter of FAIRNESS.”
The same reporting said Trump declared “The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran,” while also stating “We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving.”
In the Intercept’s account of the wider war, it said the official number of dead and wounded U.S. personnel stands at 428 and that the number of U.S. wounded rose to 414 on Monday, framing the figures as part of a conflict that had already seen a ceasefire collapse.
The Intercept also reported that Iran called for revenge after the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, quoting Mojtaba Khamenei saying, “We pledge that we will avenge your pure blood and the blood of all those martyred in these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers,” and adding “This revenge is the demand of our nation, and it must certainly be carried out.”
