What really happened? Troops and intelligence reports suggest service member deaths in Iran were preventable

Source: The Independent

Sunday 24 May 2026 08:45 EDT


At least 13 U.S. service members have died during the war with Iran, including six people who were killed when two refueling jets collided above Iraq. An Iranian drone strike that hit a command post in Kuwait killed another six service members.

Donald Trump’s administration quickly sought to frame the deadly incidents as tragic accidents. In the case of the refueling tankers, officials said the accident took place over “friendly airspace” and wasn’t the result of hostile fire. And in Kuwait, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the Iranian drone a “squirter” that managed to squeak through U.S. defenses.

But surviving service members and intelligence agencies reportedly warned U.S. military officials about potential vulnerabilities and the likelihood of enemy fire before the incidents, raising questions about Department of Defense narratives during the nearly three-month-long war. A pair of recent reports from The Atlantic and CBS News suggest military officials downplayed potential threats and ignored requests for medical assistance, with one service member calling the Kuwait strike — the deadliest attack on American troops since 2021 — an outright “failure.”

The life of at least one service member could have been saved if more medical resources were onsite during the March 1 Kuwait attack, Major Stephen Ramsbottom told CBS News. He was expecting a “line of ambulances” coming to the rescue only to find that “we’re on our own,” he said.57

Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/iran-war-death-toll-hegseth-intelligence-reports-b2981465.html