{"id":4842,"date":"2026-03-14T02:27:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T02:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/4842\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T02:27:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T02:27:06","slug":"six-u-s-airmen-die-in-crash-2500-marines-being-sent-to-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/4842\/","title":{"rendered":"Six U.S. airmen die in crash; 2,500 Marines being sent to the Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Six American airmen deployed to operations against Iran were killed after their refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq, U.S. Central Command said Friday, bringing the U.S. death toll in the war to 13, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a deployment of Marines to the region ahead of the heaviest day of strikes yet.<\/p>\n

The crash involved two aircraft in \u201cfriendly airspace,\u201d the Pentagon said, adding that the other plane landed safely. The downed KC-135 refueling tanker is the fourth U.S. aircraft to crash during the war against Iran.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican heroes, all of them,\u201d Hegseth said at the Pentagon on Friday. \u201cWe will greet those heroes at Dover and their sacrifice will only recommit us to the resolve of this mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

Central Command said the incident is under investigation but was \u201cnot due to hostile or friendly fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Defense secretary said Friday would see Iran hammered with the heaviest round of airstrikes yet seen in the two-week U.S.-Israeli operation that has razed buildings, complexes and factory lines all across Iran, killing at least 1,348 civilians, according to Iranian officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo quarter, no mercy for our enemies,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n

As Hegseth delivered his remarks, the USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship and some 2,500 Marines prepared to embark on a two-week journey from Japan to the Middle East on his orders, the Associated Press and other outlets reported.<\/p>\n

The move will add additional warships, troops and fighter jets to support Marines already in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The deployment comes amid media speculation that the U.S. may be gathering troops for a ground invasion of the Iranian-held Kharg Island, the country\u2019s main oil export outlet. President Trump told Fox News that the island is \u201cnot high on my list,\u201d of war priorities, but \u201cI can change my mind in seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later Friday, Trump posted on his social media site that U.S. forces at his direction had carried out bombing raids that \u201ctotally obliterated<\/a> every MILITARY target\u201d on Kharg Island, while leaving its oil infrastructure intact. But he threatened to \u201cimmediately reconsider this decision\u201d if Iran \u201cor anyone else\u201d interfered with ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

And while Hegseth insisted that fighting will cease when the U.S. destroys Iran\u2019s naval, missile and nuclear weapons capabilities, the president\u2019s public statements continue to sow doubt that the White House and Pentagon are aligned on the objectives of the mission.<\/p>\n

Asked Friday by Fox News when the war might end, Trump said, \u201cWhen I feel it \u2014 feel it in my bones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

An Iranian man makes a wish as he blows out a candle during a small birthday party at a cafe at night in Tehran on March 13, 2026. <\/p>\n

(Morteza Nikoubazl \/ NurPhoto)<\/p>\n

During the briefing, Hegseth described the Iranian leaders as \u201cdesperate\u201d and \u201ccowering\u201d underground like rats. He said Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei \u201cis wounded and likely disfigured,\u201d but gave no intelligence to support the claim. <\/p>\n

Khamenei has not been seen in public since he rose to leadership, but issued his first public statement<\/a> Thursday vowing retaliation against U.S. and Israeli attacks, promising that Tehran will continue to choke off the world\u2019s most crucial oil route \u2014 the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur revenge will be never ending, not only for the late supreme leader, but also for the blood of all of our martyrs,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s blockade of the strait remains Tehran\u2019s foremost leverage against its Western adversaries, and a serious political bane for Trump<\/a>. The International Energy Agency warned Thursday that the conflict has created \u201cthe largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,\u201d which has sent oil prices surging 40% to $95 a barrel since Feb. 28. <\/p>\n

Some 1,000 ships remain stranded in the Persian Gulf, many of them energy tankers that have been unable to carry oil and gas shipments from the Middle East to importers across the globe. Vessels that have attempted to traverse the embattled channel have been destroyed in Iranian attacks. Hegseth described Tehran\u2019s strategy as \u201can act of desperation.\u201d <\/p>\n

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations on Friday reported 20 incidents affecting vessels operating in and around the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman in March. <\/p>\n

Shipping disruptions have also caused severe strains to global fertilizer supplies, threatening to drive up costs for farmers and reduce crop yields during the spring planting season, Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, wrote in a letter to Trump<\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n

Over a third of the global fertilizer trade moves through the Strait of Hormuz, with prices for some essential compounds already surging by as much as 35% to three-year highs. <\/p>\n

\u201cNot only is this a threat to our food security \u2014 and by extension our national security \u2014 such a production shock could contribute to inflationary pressures across the U.S. economy,\u201d Duvall wrote.<\/p>\n

\"Secretary <\/p>\n

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins speaks with members of the press before she and a small group of National Finals Rodeo winners meet President Trump and tour the White House on Friday.<\/p>\n

(Roberto Schmidt \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, speaking at a news conference Friday, acknowledged that the conflict has affected the bottom line for farmers, but said \u201cwe expect that to resolve itself pretty quickly.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMost of our farmers, not all, have actually purchased their fertilizer for planting season this year, but about 25% have not. So that\u2019s why we just need to fully understand the facts in hand,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Drone and missile attacks continue to assail gulf states, threatening to draw more players into the conflict. Thick black smoke was seen rising over Dubai\u2019s skyline Friday after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone strike caused a fire and minor damage to a building within the Dubai International Financial Center, according to the Dubai Media Office. <\/p>\n

Europe has become increasingly involved too. U.S. long-range bombers have begun flying offensive missions from British air bases, even as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer explicitly permitted U.S. forces to use the bases \u201cfor defensive purposes only.\u201d Starmer initially refused to cooperate in American hostilities in any capacity, but changed his approach after he drew criticism from Trump, who said, \u201cHe\u2019s no Winston Churchill.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.K., France and Italy each deployed naval assets to the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, just 125 miles from Lebanon, after Iranian drone strikes hit U.K. bases. The island has emerged as a strategic \u2014 and exposed \u2014 nerve center in the U.S. offensive against Iran.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Israel said Friday that its strikes are \u201ccontinuing and intensifying\u201d in Lebanon and Iran. The Israel Defense Forces issued new evacuation orders in southern Lebanon on Thursday after overnight airstrikes in Beirut triggered retaliatory missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.<\/p>\n

Eight civilians were killed and nine others were wounded in attacks on the Lebanese city of Sidon on Friday, according to Lebanon\u2019s Health Ministry. More than 100 children have been killed in the Israeli assault, the ministry said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Six American airmen deployed to operations against Iran were killed after their refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4843,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3855,3853,1949,8,1072,19,3856,3854,273,3852,9,542,3851,181,284,7,1186,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-4842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-arabian-gulf","9":"tag-crash","10":"tag-friday","11":"tag-headlines","12":"tag-hegseth","13":"tag-iran","14":"tag-iranian-drone-strike","15":"tag-leader","16":"tag-lebanon","17":"tag-mission","18":"tag-news","19":"tag-president-trump","20":"tag-strait","21":"tag-strike","22":"tag-tehran","23":"tag-top-stories","24":"tag-u-s","25":"tag-war"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116225169305526669","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}