'Not a sacrifice' Marjorie Taylor Greene slams Pete Hegseth over Iran War casualties

Former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on X on Saturday over his comments about the killing of two U.S. service members in an Iranian strike in Jordan last week. Greene, a prominent critic of President Donald Trump, rejected Hegseth's description of fallen troops in Iran as sacrifices, claiming the servicemen died because of the war the administration waged on behalf of a "foreign nation".

On Saturday, the Central Command said Iranian ballistic missiles and drones struck U.S. and partner forces in Jordan on July 17, killing two American service members while another was missing. Four additional U.S. service members were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan. They have since been discharged, and others who were treated for minor injuries have returned to duty, the military said. Reacting to the news, Hegseth shared a message in an X post saying, “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve." Greene then fired back at Hegseth, writing, “Sacrifice?? What the f*** are you talking about??” She claimed that the servicemen “did not willingly sacrifice themselves,” and that they were killed fighting a war waged “on behalf of a FOREIGN COUNTRY, Israel.”

The Central Command on Sunday further announced that the U.S. had launched a new round of airstrikes against Iran on July 18, following Tehran's attacks in neighboring U.S. allies including Jordan. In an updated post, CENTCOM said another U.S. service member was killed in a separate incident in Iraq on July 18 during a controlled detonation of an unexploded Iranian drone. Footage released by the military appeared to show strikes carried out by fighter jets and by cruise missiles that hit a range of targets, one of which appeared to be in a valley of a mountainous region. Meanwhile, Iran’s atomic energy agency said the U.S. strikes targeted the construction site of a planned nuclear power plant in the southwest, The Guardian reported, citing state television.

With the renewed fighting and escalating tensions, the U.S. and Iran have come close to an all-out war as the interim deal signed last month has seemingly crumbled. As the negotiations failed, shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled, threatening to fuel global inflation as crude oil prices rise again. In the recent strikes, both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people, as the U.S. seems to be targeting bridges, water desalination plants and electrical facilities in Iran.

Trump had previously threatened to wipe out "bridges and power plants," pushing the military to possibly commit war crimes. In retaliation, Tehran hit US-allied countries throughout the Middle East, including Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, as the three countries once again activated air defenses for incoming Iranian drones and missiles. Furthermore, Israel's military said that "several interceptors were launched toward missile debris to prevent debris impact within Israeli territory" after Tehran launched projectiles toward its neighbor Jordan, the BBC reported.