US acknowledges seventh US soldier killed. Israel kills five IRGC members in Beirut hotel strike

The number of US soldiers killed in the conflict with Iran has reached seven, the US military said, quoted by Reuters.

„A US service member died last night from wounds sustained in Iran's initial retaliatory strikes“, the US military command reported on the social network X. “This is the seventh soldier to die in combat during Operation Epic Fury,“ the military added.

The soldier was part of a unit stationed in Saudi Arabia and was seriously wounded on March 1.

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said today that Tehran was not seeking a ceasefire, adding that “the aggressors“ must be punished.

“If the enemy attacks us from any side, Tehran will respond decisively“, he told Iranian state television.

The Israeli army said that five members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including three commanders from the “Quds Force“, were killed in a strike on a Beirut hotel, Agence France-Presse reported.

“Overnight, the Israeli navy, supported by precise intelligence, carried out a targeted strike in Beirut against five commanders from the Lebanese and Palestinian branches of the IRGC who were meeting in a Beirut hotel“, the army said in a statement.

“We can confirm that three high-ranking commanders of the “Quds Force“ – the foreign operations wing of the IRGC – – were eliminated in the strike“, the army added.

The statement named Majid Hasini – responsible for transferring funds to finance “Hezbollah“ activities, Ali Reza Bi-Azar – head of the intelligence unit of the Lebanese branch of the “Quds“ force, and Ahmad Rasouli – responsible for collecting intelligence on “Palestinian terrorist organizations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip“.

“Last night we took action against commanders of the Iranian “Quds“ force and attacked them“, said the Israeli Chief of Staff, Gen. Eyal Zamir. "I can tell you that there is no safe place for the Iranian axis of evil anywhere in the Middle East, not in Beirut or anywhere else," he added.

The United States and Iran have traded accusations that populated areas are being used to carry out attacks on the other side's targets, Reuters and TASS reported.

Iranian forces are using populated areas to launch ballistic missiles and drones, the US military said, quoted by Reuters.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei made the same accusation, saying that residential areas in countries neighboring Iran were being used to launch missile strikes against Iran.

„For those who stubbornly ignore the reasons for our retaliatory strikes on US military bases/facilities in the region - missiles are being launched at Iran from residential areas in neighboring countries, and American fighter jets are using the airspace of neighboring countries to strike Iran, which threatens security in the region“, the diplomat wrote on his page on the social network Ex.

Meanwhile, the British Ministry of Defense wrote in Ex that last night British forces successfully repelled an attack by a one-way drone directed from Iran towards Iraq.

Israeli Chief of General Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir said today in a video released by the army that the war will last “a long time“.

“Israel has been in a state of emergency for two years, it is expected that (the war) will take a long time, we must be patient“, Zamir said, addressing the servicemen.