U.S. military identifies 2 soldiers killed in Iranian attack on Jordan

By — Associated Press Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/u-s-military-identifies-2-soldiers-killed-in-iranian-attack-on-jordan Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter U.S. military identifies 2 soldiers killed in Iranian attack on Jordan Politics Jul 20, 2026 8:55 AM EDT WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military on Monday identified two soldiers killed in action last week as part of the war with Iran. The Defense Department said in a statement that 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, were killed in Jordan, where they were supporting a U.S. mission against the Islamic State group. It's unclear how they were killed. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. On Saturday, the U.S. Central Command said two service members were killed in Jordan while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. The U.S. military has said the total number of deaths in the war with Iran is 17. The deaths reflect the complicated reality that American soldiers don't need to be on the ground in Iran for there to be lethal risks in a conflict that involves drones, missiles and airplanes. American forces are arrayed across the Middle East, making other nations targets of Iran as the fighting has escalated after a breakdown in peace talks. President Donald Trump, a Republican, has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. First fatalities came soon after the war started Shortly after the war began on Feb. 28, an Iranian drone strike at a civilian port in Kuwait killed six American soldiers. The soldiers were part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa who were working at a shipping container-style building that had no defenses. A map of Iran with its capital, Tehran. Image by AP Photo A seventh soldier died more than a week after being wounded during a March 1 attack by Iran on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. READ MORE: U.S. military launches new airstrikes to punish Iran for deaths of U.S. troops Later in March, six service members were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting U.S. military operations against Iran crashed in Iraq. The aircraft was in "friendly" airspace when an unspecified incident involving another aircraft took place, according to U.S. Central Command. On Monday, the U.S. military said a Navy pilot died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. The Navy initially described the July 1 crash as an emergency landing and said there was "no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action." The remaining three sailors aboard the helicopter were rescued. Drones and missiles still claiming lives The latest U.S. military death from the conflict was on Saturday in northern Iraq when an American service member in northern Iraq was killed during a "contr