The war on Iran that’s led to wider war in the Middle East is expanding further as it enters its third week.
The war on Iran, known in the U.S. as Operation Epic Fury, has killed at least 13 service members, with six killed in a refueling plane crash over Iraq Thursday and seven others killed in combat. About 140 U.S. service members have been injured, including eight severely, the .Pentagon said.
In Iran, the Red Cros said 1,300 people have been killed so far. Iran’s Health Ministry says 223 women and 202 children are among those killed. In Israel, 12 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire since the war started. More have been injured.
Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, threatened Saturday to revoke TV broadcasters’ licenses over their coverage of the war against Iran.
Carr, who heads the agency responsible for licensing TV and radio networks like ABC, CBS and NBC, repeated the threats after President Trump heavily criticized media coverage of the war.
The Pentagon has released photos of the six Air Force members who were killed Thursday when their refueling plane crashed in Iraq while supporting Operation Epic Fury.
They were Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Ala.; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky.; Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Ind.; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio.
Klinner, Savino and Pruitt were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Base in Florida. Koval, Angst and Simmons were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus, Ohio.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said three of the Air Force members killed were stationed at the 117th in Birmingham.
“They were not only outstanding Airmen. They were our neighbors — our fellow Alabamians. May their service and that of their families never be forgotten,” she said on social media.
Gulf states reported new missile and drone attacks on Sunday after Iran threatened to widen its campaign and called for the evacuation of three major ports in the United Arab Emirates.
Since the war started, Iranian strikes have killed at least a dozen civilians in Gulf states, most of them migrant workers.
Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday escalated his appeal for peace by directly addressing the leaders who launched the war.
The conflict between the U.S. and the Middle East has entered its third week. We’re hearing reporters that the U.S. conducted a major strike on Kharg island in the Persian Gulf, which is also known as the heart of Iran’s oil system. National security analyst Hal Kempfer is here to join LiveNOW’s Austin Westfall to discuss.
“On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict,” Leo said. “Cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened. Violence can never lead to the justice, stability, and peace that the people are waiting for.”
While Leo didn’t mention the United States or Israel by name, he mentioned the bombings that targeted a school — an apparent reference to the missile strike on an elementary school in Iran in the opening days of the war that killed over 165 people, many of them children.
Iran vows to kill Netanyahu
8:23 a.m. ET: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vowed Sunday to hunt down Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
“If the criminal Zionist prime minister is still alive, we will continue to pursue and kill him with full force,” the IRGC said in a statement.