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U.S. military names six killed in plane crash as Iran war enters third week

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− By NPR Staff Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday, March 15, 2026.
+ By NPR Staff Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, early Sunday.
− Ohad Zwigenberg/AP hide caption The conflict in the Middle East has entered a third week, with Israel announcing a barrage of new strikes on western Iran on Sunday, while the U.S. defense department released the names of six service members who died when their military refueling aircraft crashed.
+ Ohad Zwigenberg/AP hide caption The conflict in the Middle East has shown no signs of slowing down, with Israel announcing a barrage of new strikes on western Iran on Sunday, while Iran's foreign minister said it has not asked for a ceasefire as President Trump has claimed.
− Iran's regional Gulf neighbors have continued to face attacks, with Saudi Arabia saying it had taken down 26 Iranian drones over its territory and the United Arab Emirates reporting a missile attack.
+ On Saturday, the U.S.
− Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain and in Israel, in Tel Aviv.
+ Defense Department released the names of six service members who died when their military refueling aircraft crashed.
In Tehran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to "pursue" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it would then "kill him," according to Iran's state-affiliated Mehr news agency. Meanwhile President Trump told NBC News he wasn't sure whether Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was still alive, saying "so far no-one's been able to show him." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday Khamenei – who was appointed a week ago after Israeli strikes killed his father at the beginning of the war – had been wounded. Trump also told the network that several U.S. allies had responded to his call for help to defend the vital economic waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, though he didn't name them and none have publicly agreed to assist.
− "Iran wants to make a deal, and I don't want to make it because the terms aren't good enough yet," he added.
+ Here are more detailed updates about the conflict: Trump told NBC News on Saturday that Iran was ready "to make a deal, and I don't want to make it because the terms aren't good enough yet." But on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi refuted Trump and said it has not asked for a ceasefire.
− Here are more detailed updates about the conflict: The Defense Department identified six American service members who died on March 12 when their KC-135 refueling plane crashed over Western Iraq.
+ "No, we never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes," Araghchi told CBS News' "Face the Nation." "And this is what we have done so far, and we continue to do that until President Trump comes to the point that this is an illegal war with no victory." Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, has threatened the licenses of broadcasters who broadcast what he says is "fake news" in connection with mainstream news coverage of Iran.
+ Carr accused outlets of "running hoaxes and news distortions" in a social media post. He added that "broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not." In the post, Carr attached a picture of a social media post in which President Trump had said that outlets including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal want the U.S. to lose the war in Iran, and characterized workers at those outlets as "truly sick and demented people." The administration has multiple times accused news organizations of pushing "fake news" after running stories about difficulties and damages the U.S. has suffered in the war. The Defense Department identified six American service members who died on March 12 when their KC-135 refueling plane crashed over Western Iraq.
The Pentagon has said the loss of the Stratotanker aircraft was caused by neither hostile nor friendly fire, and said the incident is under investigation. An Iranian proxy group claimed responsibility. A bulldozer clears debris from the rubble of buildings destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, Sunday, March 15, 2026. Hassan Ammar/AP hide caption Three of the deceased were from the MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and named as Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Ala.; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky. The other three were assigned to Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio. They were: Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Ind.; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio. The crash brings the U.S. military death toll to 13, seven of whom have been killed by enemy fire. Eight U.S. service members have been severely injured, according to the Pentagon. "The IDF has just begun a wave of extensive strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in western Iran," the Israel Defense Forces posted on their official X account on Sunday. The IDF also said it had struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Saturday, noting: "The Air Force struck in the Al-Qataraani area several launch sites of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, from which the organization's terrorists planned to carry out launches in the immediate time frame." "The headquarters of the 'Radwan Force' unit of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Beirut were attacked and destroyed," it said.
− President Trump on Saturday urged foreign powers to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz.
+ The Lebanese Health Ministry on Sunday said 850 people have been killed since the war began, and over 2,000 injured. In some of his fiercest comments about the war, Pope Leo XIV on Sunday said, "In the name of the Christians of the Middle East and of all women and men of goodwill, cease the fire!
+ Let paths of dialogue be reopened!" "Violence can never lead to the justice, the stability and the peace that peoples are awaiting," he said, according to the Vatican. He also said he hopes there are dialogues that can support Lebanon "in implementing lasting solutions to the serious crisis underway, for the common good of all the Lebanese people." President Trump on Saturday urged foreign powers to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has been blocking the key shipping route, where much of the world's oil supplies typically pass. "Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated," he wrote on Truth Social. So far, no country has committed to Trump's call. The UK's Defense Ministry has said it is exploring its options. Since the start of the war, Iran has blocked some oil tankers and attacked cargo vessels trying to pass through the strait, which has led to a huge spike in global oil prices. Nearly a fifth of the world's oil supply typically passes through this vital oil export route. The waters off Iran's coast have become a strategic battleground in the war and the US bombed military targets on Iran's Kharg Island Saturday. Trump said the U.S. might hit the island again quote "just for fun" if Iran continues interfering with ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the U.S.
− military has reached out several times seeking expertise on how to intercept and destroy Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones, even as President Trump says he doesn't need Ukraine's help.
+ military has reached out several times seeking expertise on how to intercept and destroy Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones, even as Trump says he doesn't need Ukraine's help.
Zelenskyy made the comments during a private meeting on Saturday with media outlets in Kyiv, including NPR.
− The comments were embargoed until Sunday.
"The Americans have reached out to us several times, either for assistance to a particular county or for support for Americans," he said.
+ The leaders of several Middle Eastern nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain, have also contacted him about drones, he added.
− The leaders of several Middle Eastern nations, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Bahrain, have also contacted him about drones, he said. "This is not about being involved in operations," Zelenskyy said.
+ Shaheds, designed by Iran, resemble small jets and often carry explosives.
− "We are not at war with Iran. This is about protection and assessing how we can help counter Shahed drones." Shaheds, designed by Iran, resemble small jets and often carry explosives.
Iranian forces have launched them at targets inside of Gulf nations, including U.S. military bases and consulates, in retaliation for the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Gulf states are using expensive air defense missiles to take down Shaheds, which are relatively cheap in comparison. Since Russia launched its full-scale war on Ukraine in 2022, it has also used the Iranian-designed drones to bomb Ukrainian cities, often launching hundreds at a time. Ukraine has learned to destroy them using a variety of methods, including mobile air defense units on land, electronic jamming and cheap interceptor drones that hunt and destroy Shaheds.
− Zelenskyy said Ukrainian drone expertise is valuable, and in exchange for help in downing Iranian drones, Ukraine is seeking funding and technology to increase its own drone production.
+ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gestures during a joint news conference with Romanian President Nicusor Dan at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, March 12, 2026. Andreea Alexandru/AP hide caption Zelenskyy said Ukrainian drone expertise is valuable, and in exchange for help in downing Iranian drones, Ukraine is seeking funding and technology to increase its own drone production.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had proposed a drone deal with the U.S. last year in exchange for investment in production.
− "We did not sign the document with President Trump," Zelenskyy said. "I do not not have an answer as to why. Perhaps it will happen later, but I am not sure." He said he has secured drone deals with European countries and has received "very specific requests with big proposals" from countries in the Middle East.
+ He said he has secured drone deals with European countries and has received "very specific requests with big proposals" from countries in the Middle East.
− Zelenskyy said some countries, which he did not name, were trying to buy interceptor drones directly from private companies in Ukraine, something he condemned. He said all deals should go through the Ukrainian government.
+ Zelenskyy said some countries, which he did not name, were trying to buy interceptor drones directly from private companies in Ukraine, something he condemned, saying all deals should go through the Ukrainian government.
− "I cannot purchase missiles for the Patriot system without the White House," he said.
+ Zelenskyy also said European Union leaders are pressuring him to re-open a Soviet era pipeline that sends Russian oil to Kremlin allies Hungary and Slovakia. A Russian attack in January badly damaged the Druzhba pipeline, according to Zelenskyy, who added that Ukrainian crews need months to repair it. But he also said he opposed re-opening it, comparing the move to the EU lifting economic sanctions on Russia. The pressure to re-open the Druzhba pipeline comes as the Trump administration temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil in an attempt to cool oil prices, which have shot up since Tehran blocked the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the U.S-Israel war on Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that the temporary relief will last until April 11 and applies only to Russian oil already in transit.
− "I cannot buy missiles in Europe without the relevant leaders and defense ministers … I could not buy any type of weapon until I had reached an agreement with the leader of the country where it is produced." Arezou Rezvani in Erbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Joanna Kakissis in Ukraine, and Kate Bartlett contributed to this report.
+ Several European leaders have criticized the move, and Zelenskyy said it will give the Russian war machine $10 billion and extend the war.
+ Arezou Rezvani in Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Joanna Kakissis in Ukraine, and Kate Bartlett, Chandelis Duster and Danielle Kurtzleben contributed to this report.
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