Iran’s top security official says American soldiers are being held prisoner, but the US is calling it something else entirely

Iran’s top security official, Ali Larijani, has claimed that his country has captured United States soldiers. The US military has quickly and strongly denied this. The claim adds another layer to an already tense situation.

Larijani, who heads Iran’s National Security Council, posted his claims on X. He suggested that the US is hiding these captures by reporting them as combat deaths. “It has been reported to me that several American soldiers have been taken prisoner,” he wrote, adding that “the truth is not something they can hide for too long.”

The US military responded almost immediately. US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins stated, “The Iranian regime is doing everything it can to peddle lies and deceive. This is yet another clear example.” A spokesperson from US Central Command also denied the claims, saying, “The Iranian regime’s claims of capturing American soldiers are yet another example of its lies and deceptions.”

The war has already claimed American lives and is dividing opinion back home

This back-and-forth comes after the US and Israel launched a joint attack last week, called “Operation Epic Fury,” which began on February 28. Since then, six US soldiers have been killed, Declan Cody, Jeffrey O’Brien, Cody Khork, Noah Tietjens, Nicole Amor, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, all during an Iranian drone strike on a Kuwait port on March 1. 

Iran has also been warning outside powers to stay out of the conflict, and Iran’s warning to Europe about staying out has raised serious questions about how far the situation could spread. President Trump attended a dignified transfer ceremony for the fallen soldiers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on March 7. 

“It’s a very sad day. I’m glad we paid our respects. It’s tough. It’s a tough situation,” he said afterward. Despite the losses, Trump said things are “as good as it could be” and that “We’re winning the war by a lot. We’ve decimated their whole evil empire.”

Trump has not ruled out sending US soldiers directly into Iran. He and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth have both warned that the US death toll could rise further. Trump has estimated the war could last around four to five weeks, saying, “We expect casualties, but in the end, it’s going to be a great deal for the world.”

On Iran’s side, the human cost is far greater. Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that around 1,332 people have been killed since the war began. This includes approximately 180 children who died in a strike on a school in the southeastern city of Minab. While analysis suggested the US was responsible, Trump blamed Iran, saying, “Based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.”

The war has also caused division within Trump’s own political base. Conservative media host Megyn Kelly posted on social media, “I honestly can’t believe we’re doing this again.” Former Congress member Marjorie Taylor Greene said Trump and his team “betrayed their campaign promises of No More Foreign Wars/No More Regime Change,” and warned, “We voted for America FIRST and that means AMERICANS FIRST AND AMERICANS ONLY.”

Not every world leader has rushed to join the effort either, Starmer’s cautious stance on joining the Iran war has sparked fierce debate in the UK. A recent poll found that 56 percent of the 1,591 adults surveyed disapprove of the conflict, with one correspondent noting, “Most Americans believe that this is one that cannot be afforded… given the fact we’ve now had six Americans killed.”