Pentagon Names First US Soldiers Who Died in Iran War

The United States has identified four Army Reserve soldiers who lost their lives due to a drone strike in Kuwait, marking the first American fatalities in the ongoing conflict with Iran.

The Pentagon has confirmed the identities of four American soldiers who were among the first casualties in the war against Iran, as the Trump administration cautions that the escalating conflict is expected to result in additional US fatalities.

Among the six confirmed US military deaths, four soldiers were part of an Iowa-based unit of the US Army Reserve. Military officials reported that a drone struck a US military facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait on Sunday, resulting in their deaths.

The Pentagon announced that the soldiers, ranging in age from 20 to 42, were part of the 103rd Sustainment Command based in Des Moines, Iowa, which plays a vital role in the Army’s global logistics and supply operations.

The military has released the names of the fallen US Army Reserve soldiers: Captain Cody A. Khork, 35, from Winter Haven, Florida; Sergeant 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, from Bellevue, Nebraska; and Sergeant 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Specialist Coady, who received a posthumous promotion, enlisted in the Army Reserve in 2023.

Major General Todd Erskine, commander of the 79th Theater Sustainment Command, expressed “my deepest sympathy and my respect” to the families and fellow service members of the four soldiers in a statement.

A number of the soldiers had been deployed overseas before. Khork was stationed in Saudi Arabia in 2018, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2021, and in Poland in 2024. Amor was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2019, whereas Tietjens had completed earlier deployments to Kuwait in both 2009 and 2019.

President Donald Trump and other senior officials have warned that the escalating conflict with Iran is expected to lead to more American casualties as Tehran persists in its retaliatory strikes against US and Israeli targets.

The US military’s Central Command reported that Iran has fired over 500 ballistic missiles and more than 2,000 drones throughout the Middle East as hostilities have escalated.

During a closed-door briefing on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the increasing risks to US personnel.

“They informed us in that room that more Americans are expected to die and that they will not be able to halt these drones,” Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, stated following the briefing.

Officials indicated that the facility in Kuwait was safeguarded by concrete blast walls; however, it did not have a reinforced roof. 

Uncertainty remains over the status of air defense systems during the strike, with one official noting that no alarm triggered as the drone approached.

Investigations into the attack continue as US forces prepare for potential escalation in the region.