The Pentagon has scrubbed four U.S. service members from its official casualty list, cutting the total American fatalities in the Iran war from 18 down to 14, a move military officials attributed to the troops dying after President Donald Trump’s ceasefire declaration in April. The removal came as the administration blamed “temporary data disruptions” and “site anomalies,” even as Trump threatened Iran with total destruction if Tehran follows through on alleged assassination plots against him.
Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas; Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York; and Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Spring Lake, North Carolina, were all killed in Iranian missile and drone attacks across Jordan and Iraq. Their names vanished from Pentagon records this week, shortly before Trump attended a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday for troops killed in the conflict.
U.S. strikes on Iranian targets have now continued for 13 consecutive nights, with the latest salvo hitting Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim. The sustained bombing campaign comes as diplomatic efforts to salvage a crumbling ceasefire intensify in Oman, where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived early Saturday to pursue negotiations with the sultanate mediating between Washington and Tehran.
Assassination Threats Prompt Missile Warning
In a late Friday post on Truth Social, Trump declared “1,000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran” should assassination attempts target him. Military orders have been issued with a one-year term, potentially extendable, granting authority to “completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran,” he wrote. The Treasury Department simultaneously announced penalties against a purported Iranian financial operative. Tehran retaliated on Saturday, claiming the fresh economic penalties violated last month’s preliminary understanding between the two countries.
Trump’s warning followed intelligence shared by Israel earlier in the week pointing to an Iranian plot to kill the president, intensifying fears that the fragile truce could shatter completely.
This marks the second time Trump has issued such a threat. On Feb. 4, 2025, while signing an executive order imposing severe economic measures against Tehran, the president informed his aides he would completely destroy Iran should it attempt to kill him, cautioning that nothing would remain. The repeated vow has become central to his approach toward the Islamic Republic.
Supreme Leader Killed, Son Vows Revenge
The crisis began with an American airstrike early in the war that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Massive funeral processions took place Thursday at the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad, Iran, with participants carrying signs threatening Trump’s life, a display underscoring the fury within Iran.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the ayatollah’s son and successor, has pledged retribution for those killed by U.S. strikes. In a post on X, Iran’s new supreme leader stated that calls for retaliation originate with the Iranian people and require action. He has remained out of public view ever since the Feb. 28 strike that took the life of his father along with additional family members.
Strait Closure and Toll Proposals
France and the United Kingdom are reviewing Omani-drafted proposals that would allow navigational fees in the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Middle East diplomat with knowledge of the talks confirmed. Any such plan would require the tolls to be voluntary and gain approval from the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations body governing sea transport.
The strait became a central flashpoint after fighting erupted, with shipping traffic effectively halting as Iranian military action blocked petroleum shipments. Oil prices skyrocketed globally as a result. The preliminary ceasefire required Iran to guarantee unimpeded commercial navigation without imposing fees for 60 days, and Washington in turn ended its naval blockade and temporarily removed sanctions on Iranian oil sales.
That arrangement collapsed when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy closed the strait indefinitely after firing a warning shot at a commercial ship, insisting vessels use a northern route through Iranian territorial waters for safe passage. The United States responded by reimposing its blockade of Iranian ports after the strait incidents occurred.
Trump delivered his latest threat days after speaking during the NATO Summit held at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, on July 8. His vow to unleash overwhelming force arrived just as diplomatic talks unfolded in Oman, creating parallel tracks of negotiation and menace that now define the crisis. The toll dispute remains a flashpoint, with Omani proposals representing a fragile attempt to find common ground even as the ceasefire threatens to collapse entirely.
