Trump honors four soldiers killed in Iranian attacks

President Donald Trump stood at Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday as the remains of four U.S. Army soldiers killed in the Middle East were returned to American soil, the latest U.S. fatalities in the war with Iran.

Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attended the dignified transfer in Delaware for Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Hawaii; Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Texas; Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, of New York; and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of North Carolina. The White House said Trump met privately with each of the soldiers’ families.

“We’re going to Dover,” Trump told reporters before the transfer. “Some of you are going with us, to honor our heroes, and they are indeed great heroes, actually. They said, and they — all of them said very strongly — we can’t let, we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. They won’t have a nuclear weapon. So we’re going to honor them. And it’s one of the hardest things to do. For me, it’s one of the hardest things to do as a president. But, has to be done.”

The soldiers’ remains were carried from a plane in American flag-draped transfer cases and placed into waiting vans. Uniformed service members moved the cases past Trump, Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., also attended. Trump and other officials saluted as the remains passed; others placed their hands over their hearts.

The Pentagon said Gonzales was killed Friday and Feehan was killed Saturday in strikes at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Rampersad had initially been listed by U.S. Central Command as missing in action, but her status was updated Tuesday to whereabouts unknown. The Pentagon said she is believed to have been killed in Jordan and that the incident is under investigation.

Swinton, a father of two, was killed Sunday at Erbil Air Base in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian attack drone, officials said.

Trump told reporters Wednesday that the administration would share the results of the investigation into the Jordan attacks.

A dignified transfer is the nonceremonial movement of a fallen U.S. service member killed abroad back to the United States. The fallen are moved in flag-draped transfer cases, not caskets, and carried by members of the military. Presidents or other senior administration officials often attend.

NBC News reported that Wednesday’s transfer was Trump’s third since the war began in February and his first since he declared on July 8 that a ceasefire was over. The network reported that the conflict has left at least 18 Americans dead, cost at least $37.5 billion and raised oil prices.

The war has drawn criticism from lawmakers in both parties who have questioned the administration’s strategy, while Trump and his advisers have defended the campaign as necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Hegseth faced questions from senators Tuesday about the war’s cost and direction during a hearing on the Pentagon’s budget request.

During one heated exchange, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., called the administration’s efforts “an utter and complete failure” and pressed Hegseth on the long-term plan to end the war.

“You have over a trillion dollars,” Peters said. “You’re asking for one and a half trillion dollars. It’s not a question of money. It’s a question of leadership and understanding what it takes to actually win.”