The US Army identifies two soldiers killed in the Iranian attack on Jordan

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two American soldiers killed in Jordan while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks were identified Monday — the first U.S. troop deaths due to direct Iranian fire since the early days of the war.

The Department of Defense said in a statement that James Feehan, 25, from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Isabella Gonzalez, 19, from Carrollton, Texas, were killed in Jordan in attacks on Friday.

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command on Monday, July 20, 2026, must be of 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan. (U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command via AP)

Feehan, a first lieutenant, will be posthumously promoted to captain and awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge medals. The army did not provide details about its praise. He was assigned from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the 32nd Army Air Missile Defense Command.

This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Pvt. Isabella Gonzalez, 19, from Carrollton, Texas. (US Army via AP)

Gonzalez was a soldier with the 10th Army Air Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany. She graduated last year from Hebron High School in Carrollton near Dallas, school officials said.

“She gave her life in that service, and our district is saddened by her loss,” the Lewisville Independent School District said in a statement. “Her decision to serve after graduation speaks to her character.”

The military said Gonzalez died on Friday and Fehan died the next day. No details were provided.

Read more: The US military launched new air strikes to punish Iran for the killing of American soldiers

The US military says 17 service members were killed in the war with Iran

The deaths reflect the complex reality that American soldiers do not need to be on the ground in Iran for there to be lethal risks in a conflict involving drones, missiles and aircraft. US forces are deployed across the Middle East, making other countries targets for Iran and its allies as fighting escalates after peace talks collapse.

Map of Iran and its capital, Tehran. Photo by AP Photo

US President Donald Trump said that war is necessary to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Trump, a Republican, now faces political pressure to end the war and avoid a long-running conflict in the Middle East that he had campaigned against.

Later in March, six service members were killed when a KC-135 refueling plane supporting US military operations against Iran crashed in Iraq. The plane was in “friendly” airspace when an unspecified incident occurred involving another plane, according to US Central Command.

The US military announced on Monday that a Navy pilot was killed in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. The Navy initially described the July 1 incident as an emergency landing and said there was “no indication that the emergency was caused by hostile action.” The remaining three sailors on board the helicopter were rescued.

Drones and missiles continue to claim lives

US Central Command said on Sunday that a US soldier was also killed in northern Iraq on Saturday during a “controlled detonation” of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone. A second on-duty soldier was injured and is receiving medical treatment for a minor injury.

The military said it would withhold additional information until 24 hours had passed after notifying families.

Iranian authorities said US strikes in the past three weeks alone have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500 others, including eight killed in a bridge strike on Friday.

Both sides have targeted the civilian infrastructure on which millions of people depend. Shipworkers, as well as foreign workers and others in the Gulf states, Israel and Lebanon, were also killed in the conflict.

The first deaths among American military personnel came shortly after the war began

Shortly after the United States and Israel began the war on February 28, an Iranian drone strike on a civilian port in Kuwait killed six American soldiers. The soldiers were part of a supply and logistics unit stationed in Iowa, and were working in a shipping container-shaped building with no defenses.

A seventh soldier died more than a week after he was injured during an attack launched by Iran on March 1 on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Later in March, six service members were killed when a KC-135 refueling plane supporting US military operations against Iran crashed in Iraq. The plane was in “friendly” airspace when an unspecified incident occurred involving another plane, according to US Central Command.

The US military said last week that a Navy pilot was killed in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. The Navy initially described the July 1 incident as an emergency landing and said there was “no indication that the emergency was caused by hostile action.” The remaining three sailors on board the helicopter were rescued.