Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is being very open about the risks of Operation Epic Fury. In a sit-down interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, Hegseth shared that he expects there will be more U.S. soldiers hurt in the line of battle as military operations continue. Watch Hegseth’s full interview here: CBS News chief Washington correspondent @MajorCBS sat down with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington, D.C. They spoke on Friday, March 6th about the state of the war with Iran, potential American casualties, what an Iranian surrender could look like, and more. Editor's… pic.twitter.com/JRnKcYs5IY — 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) March 9, 2026 Fox News broke down Hegseth’s recent interview: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that more casualties are expected in the ongoing Operation Epic Fury in Iran, with seven U.S. soldiers having been killed so far in the fighting. Hegseth made the comment during an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired on Sunday. “The president’s been right to say there will be casualties,” Hegseth said. “Things like this don’t happen without casualties.” “There will be more casualties,” he continued. “And no one is — I mean, especially our generation knows what it’s like to see Americans come home in caskets, it’s — but that doesn’t weaken us one bit. It stiffens our spine and our resolve to say this is a fight we will finish.” Six U.S. service members were killed in a March 1 Iranian drone attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, while supporting Operation Epic Fury. The U.S. military said a seventh service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1. The U.S. and Israel last week launched joint strikes against Iran. Iran has retaliated, launching strikes against Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi on Sunday told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that if the U.S. deploys ground troops in Iran, “we have very brave soldiers who are waiting for any enemy who enters into our soil, to fight with them and to kill them and destroy them.” “We never give up, we never surrender, and we continue to resist as long as it takes,” he said. “We continue to defend ourselves, and we are defending our territory, our people and our dignity. And our dignity is not for sale.” Hegseth’s comments are similar to President Trump’s statement on the possibility of more casualties. Take a look: President Trump expects more American soldiers to die in his war against Iran: “Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That's the way it is. Likely be more." pic.twitter.com/9adwYKHxUk — The American Conservative (@amconmag) March 1, 2026 The New York Times reported that seven U.S. soldiers have died since the Iran war began: Another American service member has died in the war with Iran, the Pentagon said on Sunday, bringing the number of American troops killed in the conflict to seven. The service member, who was not publicly identified while the military notifies relatives, was seriously injured on March 1 when Iran struck a Saudi military base where American troops were stationed, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The service member died on Saturday night from those injuries while military health officials were preparing a transfer for more advanced medical care at a U.S. military hospital in Germany, officials said. On Saturday, President Trump witnessed the return of the bodies of the first six Americans killed in the war in a solemn ceremony at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The six Army Reservists were killed after an Iranian drone strike Sunday at Shuaiba port in Kuwait. Since the war began on Feb. 28, Iranian retaliatory strikes have killed at least 20 people, which, along with the American troops, includes people killed in Israel and in other countries in the region. Iran has borne the brunt of the death toll of U.S. and Israeli strikes. Earlier last week, the Red Crescent Society said nearly 800 people had been killed in Iran, but it has not provided an official update to that figure in recent days. On Friday, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations put the number of dead at over 1,300.