President Trump on Wednesday again folded his rationale for the war in Iran into a somber ritual usually untouched by politics. Before flying to Dover Air Force Base to witness the return of four service members killed in recent attacks, Trump told reporters that all of the fallen troops shared his view on the war, ABC News reports. "All of them said very strongly, 'We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,'" Trump said. He called the dignified transfer "one of the hardest things to do as a president," but said it "has to be done."
It's at least the second time in recent weeks that Trump has invoked dead service members to bolster support for the conflict, previously saying grieving relatives urged him to "finish the job." His latest comments followed a social media post contrasting US deaths in the Iran war with casualties from earlier American wars, which appeared aimed at minimizing the current toll. The Defense Department says 18 US troops have been killed and about 500 wounded since fighting began in late February.
The Pentagon on Wednesday identified Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, 28, as the third soldier killed in an Iranian strike on a US base in Jordan; Pfc. Isabella Gonzales, 19, and 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan, 25, also died in the missile attack on Friday. Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, was killed on Sunday during the controlled detonation of an Iranian drone in Iraq. Trump, who was accompanied by officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saluted as the transfer cases holding their remains were escorted off a plane, the AP reports. It was the third such ceremony he has attended since the war began.
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