Iran claims US prisoners in expanding regional conflict
Shafaq News- Tehran (Updated at 2:17)
Several US soldiers were held captive by Iran, asserted Ali Larijani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, on Saturday, as the conflict between Tehran, Washington, and Tel Aviv enters its eighth day.
In a post on X, Larijani accused Washington of downplaying its losses, first reporting only five or six deaths and then gradually increasing the numbers under different pretexts. He contended this as an effort to minimize public awareness of the conflict’s human cost.
It has been reported to me that several American soldiers have been taken prisoner. But the Americans claim that they have been killed in action. Despite their futile efforts, the truth is not something they can hide for too long.
— Ali Larijani | علی لاریجانی (@alilarijani_ir) March 7, 2026
However, a spokesperson from US Central Command (CENTCOM) told Al Jazeera Arabic that “the Iranian regime’s claims of capturing American soldiers are yet another example of its lies and deceptions.”
Earlier today, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that it had targeted Israel with 2,600 drones over the course of the war, striking both US and Israeli bases with 200 ballistic missiles.
The IRGC also asserted that 17 naval vessels belonging to the United States, Israel, and their allies had been either destroyed or set ablaze, claiming that the balance of power in the region had shifted in Iran’s favor.
Tensions escalated after joint US–Israeli strikes on Iranian sites on February 28, which reportedly killed Khamenei along with several commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian army. In response, Iran launched missile and drone attacks against Israel and US military facilities across the region, including bases in Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
