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More Than 300 US Troops Injured Since Start of Iran War

US Navy sailors taxi an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 17, 2026. (US Navy/Handout via Reuters)
US Navy sailors taxi an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 17, 2026. (US Navy/Handout via Reuters)
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More Than 300 US Troops Injured Since Start of Iran War

US Navy sailors taxi an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 17, 2026. (US Navy/Handout via Reuters)
US Navy sailors taxi an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 17, 2026. (US Navy/Handout via Reuters)

More than 300 US troops have been wounded since the start of the Iran war on February 28, US Central Command said on Friday.

"Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 303 US service members have been wounded. The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 273 troops have returned to duty," US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said.

A US official who asked not to be identified told AFP that 10 troops remain seriously wounded.

A further 13 troops have been killed in the war, according to the latest figures, with seven killed in the Gulf and six in Iraq.

In a separate development Friday, Iran's military said that hotels housing US soldiers in the region would be considered targets.

"When all the Americans (forces) go into a hotel, then from our perspective that hotel becomes American," armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi told state television on Thursday.

Iran's government has not released an updated casualty toll, but a US-based activist group said on March 23 that some 1,167 Iranian troops had been killed and 658 troops' status is unknown. AFP is not able to independently verify tolls in Iran due to reporting restrictions.

The war began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing its supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Since then, the conflict has spread across the Middle East. Iran has fired drone and missiles at Gulf states home to American military bases and other interests.

US President Donald Trump insisted on Thursday that talks to end the conflict were "ongoing" and "going very well".

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World

Putin Says It’s Too Early to Say if the Drone Which Strayed into Romania Was Russian

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
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Putin Says It’s Too Early to Say if the Drone Which Strayed into Romania Was Russian

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the extended-format meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the Palace of Independence in Astana on May 29, 2026. (AFP)

Russian ‌President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that it was too early to say if the drone which crashed into an apartment block in Romania was Russian and suggested it could have been a Ukrainian drone.

NATO accused Moscow on Friday of reckless behavior and pledged to "defend every inch of Allied territory" after Romania said a Russian drone had crashed into ‌an apartment ‌block in the alliance member state ‌during ⁠an attack on ⁠neighboring Ukraine.

"Who in Romania says that this is a Russian drone?" Putin asked reporters at a news conference in Astana, Kazakhstan. He said he had only just heard of the incident as he had been in talks ⁠all day.

"No one can say ‌what the origin ‌of this or that drone is until an examination ‌has been carried out," he said.

Putin ‌said that Ukrainian drones had previously been spotted in Finland, Poland and in the Baltic countries.

"The first reaction was exactly the same as it ‌is now in Romania: The Russians are coming," Putin said. "Then, after a short ⁠time, ⁠it turned out that it had nothing to do with Russian drones."

Putin also pushed back against remarks by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who accused Russia of crossing another line with the incident, saying that she had not examined the drone debris herself.

Putin suggested that Romania share information about what happened and potentially drone fragments so that Moscow could conduct its own investigation.

World

Trump to Decide Imminently on Iran Deal, Says Hormuz Strait Must Open

US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
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Trump to Decide Imminently on Iran Deal, Says Hormuz Strait Must Open

US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump looks on during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 27 May 2026. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump said he would make a final decision on Friday over a deal with Iran to extend their ceasefire that would need to include opening the Strait of Hormuz and dismantling Tehran's capacity to make a nuclear weapon. 

"I will be meeting now, in the Situation Room, to make a final determination," he said, referring to the White House's nerve center for monitoring global crises. 

Sources had said a deal was in the offing to ‌extend a truce in ‌place since early April for another 60 days ‌to ⁠allow oil and gas ⁠shipments to resume through the strategic waterway while negotiators tackle tricky issues such as Iran's nuclear program. 

"Iran must agree that they will never have a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb. The Hormuz Strait must be immediately open, no tolls, for unrestricted shipping traffic, in both directions," Trump said, adding that nuclear material would be "unearthed" by the US. 

There was no immediate response from Iran, but earlier its top negotiator ⁠Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had sounded skeptical. 

"We do not trust ‌guarantees and words, only actions are ‌the criterion. No action will be taken before the other side acts," Qalibaf said in a ‌social media post, without elaborating. 

"The winner of any agreement is the ‌one who is better prepared for war the day after." 

THOUSANDS DEAD, GLOBAL ECONOMY SUFFERING 

The war launched by the US and Israel on February 28 has killed thousands of people, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and caused global economic pain by pushing up ‌energy prices due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

Oil prices fell and stocks rose on ⁠Friday over the potential ⁠deal. 

In his post on Truth Social, Trump said mines would be removed from the strait and ships trapped there may start to go home: "Say HELLO to your wives, husbands, parents, and families from me, your favorite President!" 

He added that no money would be exchanged "until further notice" - a possible reference to Iran's demands for toll payments in the strait, war damage reparations or a release of Iranian funds frozen abroad. 

Kazakhstan has signaled it is willing to take Tehran's stockpile of uranium enriched close to weapons-grade levels if the US reaches a deal with Iran, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, told the Financial Times. 

Kazakhstan hosts an internationally controlled bank of low-enriched uranium to ensure fuel supplies for power stations in International Atomic Energy Agency member states. 

World

Poland President Says Wants Zelensky Stripped of Award

Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT
Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT
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Poland President Says Wants Zelensky Stripped of Award

Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT
Polish President Karol Nawrocki (C) attends the ceremony marking the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Wielun, central Poland, 01 September 2025. EPA/Marian Zubrzycki POLAND OUT

Poland's president said Friday he wanted Volodymyr Zelensky to be stripped of his country's highest civilian award, after the Ukrainian leader named a military unit after a historical faction accused of killing scores of Poles in World War II.

Karol Nawrocki told the media he was "outraged" and had proposed "the withdrawal of the Order of the White Eagle from President Zelensky".