Pentagon identifies four of first US soldiers killed in Iran war

  • A combination image of undated photos shows U.S. Army Reserve Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida, U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska, U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, and U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa, who were killed March 1, 2026, at the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait during a drone attack. (Photo: Reuters)
  • U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska poses in an undated photograph in his uniform. Tietjens was killed March 1, 2026, at the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait during a drone attack. U.S. (Photo: Reuters)
  • U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota poses in an undated photograph in her uniform. Amor was killed March 1, 2026, at the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait during a drone attack. (Photo: Reuters)
  • U.S. Army Reserve Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida poses in an undated photograph in his uniform. Khork was killed March 1, 2026, at the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait during a drone attack. (Photo: Reuters)
  • U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of Des Moines, Iowa poses in an undated photograph in his uniform. Coady was killed March 1, 2026, at the Port of Shuaiba, Kuwait during a drone attack. (Photo: Reuters)

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. military on Tuesday identified four of the first American soldiers ‌killed in the war against Iran as the Trump administration warned the intensifying conflict would lead to more American casualties.

Among six U.S. military deaths so far, the four soldiers were members of an Iowa unit of the U.S. Army Reserve. ​They died on Sunday when a drone slammed into a U.S. military facility in Port ​Shuaiba, Kuwait, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

The Pentagon said four ranged in ⁠age from 20 to 42 and served in the 103rd Sustainment Command from Des Moines, Iowa, part ​of the army’s global logistics and supply operation.

The military identified the four U.S. Army Reserve soldiers, as:

* ​Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida.

* Sargeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska

* Sargeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota

* Sargeant Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa

Major General Todd ​Erskine, who leads the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, in a statement extended “my deepest sympathy and my ​respect” to relatives and unit members of the four.

President Donald Trump and other senior officials have warned the Iran conflict ‌will result ⁠in more U.S. military deaths as Tehran retaliates against U.S. and Israeli strikes.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said on Tuesday that Iran has launched over 500 ballistic missiles and over 2,000 drones in its retaliatory attacks throughout the Middle East so far.

The risks to U.S. forces in the Middle East came ​up during a closed-door briefing ​to lawmakers on Tuesday ⁠by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“They ​told us in that room that there are going to be more Americans ​that are ⁠gonna die — that they are not … going to be able to stop these drones,” Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, said.

The facility in Kuwait where the four deaths occurred was protected by concrete blast walls but did ⁠not ​have a fortified roof, two officials told Reuters.

It was unclear ​if there were air defenses in place but no alarm apparently sounded as the drone approached, one of the officials added, speaking ​on condition of anonymity.

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T.K.B. Sen

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