A FOURTH US service member has now been killed in action as America’s fighting with Iran intensifies.

The soldier, who has not yet been named, was seriously wounded during Iran’s initial attacks and later succumbed to their injuries, US Central Command confirmed.

 

Four US troops have now been killed since hostilities began with Donald Trump’s operation Epic Fury as Iran relentlessly blitzes Middle East nations.

President Trump had earlier warned more casualties were likely as the campaign unfolds.

He said: “Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is likely to be more. But we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.”

Five have also been seriously wounded, the US military confirmed, in an Iranian attack on Kuwait.

It said: “Several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions — and are in the process of being returned to duty.

“Major combat operations continue and our response effort is ongoing.

“The situation is fluid, so out of respect for the families, we will withhold additional information, including the identities of our fallen warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.”

The US military has not confirmed how or where the soldiers were killed.

It comes after Trump warned “American heroes may be lost” as the US and Israel unleashed mass strikes on Iran – sparking retaliation from Tehran.

He said: “The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties, that often happens in war.

“We’re doing this, not for now, we’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.

“We pray for every service member as they selflessly risk their lives to ensure that Americans and our children will never be threatened by a nuclear-armed Iran.”

The US president spent weeks building up a vast armada in the Middle East as he urged Tehran to cut a deal over its nuclear empire.

But early on Saturday Trump gave the green light for the US and Israel to launch an unprecedented blitz on the rogue nation.

Strikes have continued today after he vowed to “obliterate” the regime and “raze their missile industry to the ground”.

Trump warned Iran’s revolutionary guards not to retaliate yesterday as he said: “You must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity. Or in the alternative, face certain death.”

His threat fell on deaf ears, as within hours Tehran unleashed indiscriminate blitzes on US bases in the Middle East, and Gulf nations including Israel, Dubai and Bahrain.

It has pushed the Middle East to the brink of all-out war as Iran has insisted it will exact revenge after the killing of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said: “You have crossed our red line and must pay the price.

“We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.”

Today, a US warship came under attack from ballistic missiles fired from Iran – just hours after British troops downed an Iranian drone.

Iran’s revolutionary guards this afternoon said they had targeted Trump’s USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier with four ballistic missiles.

But the US military has confirmed the rockets failed to hit the carrier and “didn’t even come close”.

The USS Lincoln is one of two aircraft carriers deployed to the region in recent weeks, and the only one relatively close to Iranian shores.

Meanwhile, hundreds of British troops have been involved in near misses in Bahrain and Iraq, The Sun understands.

Earlier, troops in Bahrain were just 200 yards from an Iranian missile and drone strike on a US Naval base.

Footage on social media appeared to show US Patriot missiles failing to stop Iranian strikes on the port.

British troops in Iraq were just 400 metres from an airstrike that made it through allied defences.

All British troops are “safe and accounted for” defence insiders claimed – but they refused to say if any had been wounded.

While Iran struck US bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the attacks have also hit outside of military installations, including a hotel in the Emirati city of Dubai, and Kuwaits international airport.

Oman, which has negotiated nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington, said it intercepted projectiles that appeared to target one of its seaports.

In repeated barrages across Israel, at least ten people were killed and more than 120 injured, according to authorities.

Many missiles were intercepted, the military said.

Flights across the Middle East were disrupted, and air defense fire thudded over Dubai