Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, was killed in Saudi Arabia.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen on Sunday to succeed him.
Iran is responding to the operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
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The State Department is urging Americans to leave 14 countries in the Middle East immediately "due to serious safety risks," Assistant Secretary Mora Namdar said on X.
The locations listed in the security alert are:
-Bahrain
-Egypt
-Iran
-Iraq
-Israel, the West Bank and Gaza
-Jordan
-Kuwait
-Lebanon
-Oman
-Qatar
-Saudi Arabia
-Syria
-United Arab Emirates
-Yemen
The U.S. struck more than 1,250 targets in Iran during the first two days of "Operation Epic Fury," according to U.S. Central Command.
Among the targets, 11 Iranian ships have been destroyed, CENTCOM said.
"Two days ago, the Iranian regime had 11 ships in the Gulf of Oman, today they have ZERO," CENTCOM said in a post on X while releasing an unclassified video of a strike. "The Iranian regime has harassed and attacked international shipping in the Gulf of Oman for decades. Those days are over."
All personnel at the U.S. embassy compound in Amman, Jordan, have "temporarily departed" due to an unnamed threat, according to a brief security alert.
The embassy had previously issued a shelter-in-place order for all mission personnel, telling them to avoid the embassy compound "as it may be targeted."
Six U.S. service members have been killed since the operation against Iran began, according to U.S. Central Command.
"U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran's initial attacks in the region," CENTCOM said in a statement Monday. "Major combat operations continue."
The names of the fallen troops will be withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification, CENTCOM said.
