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Three American service members have been killed and five seriously wounded during the United States' military operation against Iran, the Pentagon announced Sunday, marking the first confirmed US casualties since Washington launched sweeping bombardments against the country and killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei a day earlier.
The Pentagon offered no further details about the circumstances of the deaths or injuries, which came as international condemnation of the strikes began to mount, with Russia leading the most forceful diplomatic response.
Russian President Vladimir Putin moved swiftly to denounce the US-Israeli operation, calling the killing of Khamenei "a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law" in a message sent to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and published by the Kremlin on Sunday.
Putin praised the slain leader as "an outstanding statesman who made an enormous personal contribution to the development of friendly Russian-Iranian relations," and asked Pezeshkian to convey his "most sincere sympathy and support" to Khamenei's family, the Iranian government, and the Iranian people.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the deaths of Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials were "met with outrage and deep regret in Moscow," adding that Russia "resolutely and consistently condemns the practice of political assassinations and the 'hunting' of leaders of sovereign states."
The ministry called for "an immediate de-escalation, a cessation of hostilities, and a return to the political and diplomatic process," building on warnings issued Saturday that the strikes could spark "catastrophe" in the region. The Kremlin had urged restraint in the period leading up to the US-Israeli bombardments.
Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday, with the Russian ministry noting the call was held "at the initiative of the Iranian side."
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