US F-15s downed in Kuwait, Hegseth won’t rule out ground troops

US Central Command announced on Monday that a fourth service member had died after sustaining injuries in the war. A day earlier, the US military said that three troops had been killed by an Iranian strike on a US base in Kuwait and five more sustained serious injuries.

As the US campaign continues to expand, three US F-15E Strike Eagles were shot down in "an apparent friendly-fire incident" over Kuwait on Monday, per the US military, which added that all six crew members ejected safely.

In their first press conference since the war started, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the war could drag on. "This is not a single overnight operation. The military objectives that CENTCOM and the Joint Force have been tasked with will take some time to achieve," Caine said. Meanwhile, when asked whether the US had boots on the ground, Hegseth said no but added, "We'll go as far as we need to go.”

In the wake of the Saturday killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei by joint US and Israel strikes, Lebanon was drawn into the war early Monday after Hezbollah fired several projectiles at northern Israel, prompting fierce Israeli retaliation in the south and the Dahiyeh suburbs of Beirut. For the first time ever on Monday, Lebanon’s government announced an immediate ban on Hezbollah’s military and security activities. “The decision of war and peace rests solely with the state,” said Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

Tehran continues its campaign against US assets across the region and Gulf states. QatarEnergy, the world's largest producer of liquefied natural gas, said on Monday it is halting production of LNG after Iranian drone attacks.