The U.S. Defense Department on Tuesday named four of the six U.S. soldiers killed by an Iranian drone strike, the first U.S. casualties of the war with Iran that President Donald Trump launched over the weekend.

Army Reserve soldiers Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida; Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska; Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota; and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa, died March 1, a Pentagon statement said.

All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command in Des Moines. They were killed during a March 1 drone attack on a commercial port in Kuwait, a U.S. ally. 

The Defense Department has not released the names of the two other soldiers killed in the strike. The incident remains under investigation, the statement said.

The Pentagon did not mention Iran, but said the soldiers were supporting Operation Epic Fury, the administration’s name for the operation.

Trump and Cabinet officials have struggled since Saturday to articulate a cohesive rationale for the strikes, which U.S. forces conducted with Israel. 

Trump said Tuesday he “forced Israel’s hand” to launch the joint attack, contradicting Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s explanation a day earlier that the U.S. joined an Israeli operation.

The incident marks the second time in a matter of months that Iowa service members have been killed in the Middle East.

A lone gunman associated with ISIS killed two Iowa National Guard members, Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard of Marshalltown and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar of Des Moines, in Syria in December.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he “might have forced Israel’s hand” in launching the war on Iran that has already cost the lives of six American troops. 

Trump’s statement came less than a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters the United States joined the campaign to protect American troops after Israel’s planned strike.

“We were having negotiations with these lunatics, and it was my opinion that they were going to attack first,” Trump told reporters. “… and I didn’t want that to happen. So if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand, but Israel was ready, and we were ready, and we’ve had a very, very powerful impact, because virtually everything they have has been knocked out.”

Trump made the comments prior to a bilateral White House meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz as lawmakers on Capitol Hill scrambled to understand the sudden war. 

Merz said Germany is “on the same page in terms of getting this terrible regime in Tehran away” — though administration officials have maintained the conflict is not about regime change, but rather about destroying Iran’s conventional missile stockpiles and production, and thwarting any nuclear ambitions. 

Iran has launched numerous missiles and drones since the killing Saturday of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The strikes have caused damage across the Middle East, including to the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

During a previously scheduled hearing Tuesday to question Undersecretary of Defense Policy Elbridge Colby on the administration’s national defense strategy, Senate Democrats pressed for the justification for war with Iran. 

Sen. Angus King, an independent of Maine who caucuses with Democrats, homed in on Rubio’s statements Monday that the U.S. joined the war to preempt retaliatory attacks on American troops in the region, following Israel’s planned strikes on Iran’s leadership compound. Earlier, administration officials said U.S. intelligence was heavily involved in planning Israel’s offensive.

“I find it very disturbing that we’re committing this nation to war based upon a decision by … a staunch ally, and I’m a supporter of Israel,” King said. “I don’t think anybody should drive our decision to go to war, but the interest of the United States.”

“The president made our decision,” Colby replied.

GOP falls in line

Congress, meanwhile, is poised to vote this week on a War Powers Act resolution that has drawn limited Republican support to stop Trump’s unilateral military actions in Iran without congressional authorization. 

Lawmakers are largely split along party lines in their support for the military action, with Republicans falling in line behind Trump.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Monday the measure will likely fail in the House. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is the lone Republican sponsor of the House version of the legislation.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., defended the administration’s initiation of war in Iran and chastised “grandstanding” allegations that Trump broke the law in not first seeking congressional authorization.

“This is the first president in seven presidencies that actually did something about the thorn that constantly came after us. And now you criticize him, you say it’s illegal. It’s not,” Mullin said Tuesday during the Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing.

“How about we say, ‘thank you, Mr. President, for finally getting rid of this nuisance, this murderer, this sponsor of terror,’” Mullin said. 

Virginia’s Kaine says GOP ‘nervous about voting for a war’

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., lead sponsor of the Senate’s War Powers Act bill, criticized Mullin for suggesting “that the angst on this side of the aisle is because we don’t like President Trump.”

“He has misstated that concern. I think I can speak for most of my colleagues who have concerns, and say our concern is this, have we learned nothing from 25 years of war in the Middle East?” Kaine said.

Kaine said during a brief interview that Republicans who support Trump’s war in Iran should put an Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or AUMF, on the floor to formally give it Congress’ stamp of approval. 

“And the fact that there has been a reluctance to put AUMFs on the table tells me that while Republicans don’t want to be contrary to the president, they’re also nervous about voting for a war,” Kaine said. “If you’re nervous about voting for the war, well then, think what that says to the troops who are risking their lives. That anxiety should lead you to question whether it’s a good idea or not.”

Kaine said the 2001 AUMF, which Congress wrote somewhat broadly following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and is still in effect, doesn’t cover Trump’s military actions in Iran.  

“The president has not cited that,” he said. “And we all agree that Iran was not covered by the ‘01 AUMF. It was meant to cover non-state terrorist groups, not sovereign nations.”

Lawmakers were set to receive closed-door briefings on the war from administration officials later Tuesday.

The national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline topped $3 Tuesday for the first time this year, and is expected to keep going up.

The average price Tuesday was $3.11, up about 11 cents from Monday, according to AAA.

“The pump reaction is not only underway — it’s accelerating,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, which tracks prices.

Increases were already on tap even before Saturday’s U.S.-Israel strikes at Iran, as warmer weather usually means more demand and refiners start producing a summer-blend product.

But the attack adds new, powerful momentum to the price surge. The war makes it tough to forecast how long any increases will last or how big they could be. Recent experience does offer some hope that any big spike won’t last.

“While oil markets continue to react to potential tensions in the Middle East, history has shown that the price increases are temporary and quickly fall back,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist and principal at the consulting firm RSM US, on his Real Economy Blog.

President Donald Trump, speaking at a news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday, sought to justify the strikes and said any price hikes would be temporary.

“People felt it’s something that had to be done,” he said. “So if we have a little high oil prices for a little while, but as soon as this ends, those prices are going to drop, I believe, lower than even before.”

Immediate market reaction

The market reaction to the Iran war so far has been swift.

Brent crude oil, considered the global standard, topped $80 a barrel early Monday, up from the low 70s last week.

Some analysts saw prices having the potential to go as high as $100 a barrel.

“The forecasts are wide-ranging from over $100/barrel to lower prices this week on new Iraqi oil hitting the market,” said Matt McCall, founder of NXT Wave Research, an investment and market analysis firm, in a tweet. “I see a spike to start the week…and then it depends on the longevity of the war. A quick war and oil does not stay elevated. What is almost certain is volatility.”

The surge in oil prices fueled an overall slide in U.S. stock markets Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down nearly 2% around midday.

Prices up across states

The increases were felt in state after state Tuesday, according to the AAA gasoline price survey.

The nation’s lowest gasoline prices tend to be in the South, from roughly Mississippi to Texas.

The price of a gallon of regular in Oklahoma, the least expensive of any state, was $2.62 Tuesday, up from about $2.47 Monday.

Other changes in the lowest price states:

• Mississippi: $2.64 Tuesday, $2.55 Monday.
• Kansas: $2.70 Tuesday, $2.57 Monday.
• Arkansas: $2.70 Tuesday, $2.61 Monday.
• Louisiana: $2.72 Tuesday, $2.58 Monday.
• Tennessee: $2.72 Tuesday, $2.61 Monday.
• Kentucky: $2.73 Tuesday, $2.63 Monday.
• Texas: $2.74 Tuesday, $2.62 Monday.

The highest-priced gasoline tended to be in Western states. California has in recent years topped the price chart, and did again Tuesday at $4.67 per gallon, up about 1.7 cents a gallon from Monday.

California’s higher prices are the result of several special factors. It has tough environmental standards, and the state has more trouble compensating for refinery shutdown from interstate pipelines.

It’s more difficult for California to make up refinery shortages from interstate pipelines because of its location.

Other Western states have localized reasons prices stay high, and they tended to be less volatile because of the strikes. Some of the higher state averages Tuesday:

• Hawaii: $4.40 Tuesday, $4.38 Monday.
• Washington: $4.38 Tuesday, $4.37 Monday.
• Oregon: $3.95 Tuesday, $3.92 Monday.
• Nevada: $3.73 Tuesday, $3.70 Monday.

Future prices uncertain

The future path of prices depends on some huge unknowns. The biggest could involve the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, where the Iranians can exercise control. One-fifth of the world’s oil passed through there in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The strait is “one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints,” EIA said. Iranian officials said Tuesday the strait is closed, CNBC reported.

Most Iranian oil goes to China. Canada is the top importer of U.S. oil, followed by Mexico and Saudi Arabia, according to EIA. The U.S. sells more oil than it imports.

A prolonged change in Strait of Hormuz activity, or even the threat of change, is arguably already affecting oil prices. 

“Even without a sustained blockade, the new risk of closure is already changing behavior,” De Haan said. He listed ship rerouting, war-risk insurance premiums going up and “freight markets bracing for significant cost increases.”

Bottom line, he said: “Most drivers should prepare for gradual increases this week.”