So here's the situation: the war with Iran is escalating, and according to Senator Tommy Tuberville, it's about to get worse before anyone sees improvement. The Alabama Republican laid out his grim forecast Monday, pointing to the recent U.S. and Israeli strikes that killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the catalyst for what comes next.
In a chat with Ed Henry on Newsmax, Tuberville had some praise mixed with his pessimism. He said former President Donald Trump was "doing the right thing" and described the early phase of the campaign as a predictable escalation after Iran started launching missiles and drones at its neighbors. "We took out the leaders. I don't know who they had running the show, but they started pushing the buttons to the missiles and started hitting their neighbors. And the neighbors are all mad now. So, it's just unfortunate," Tuberville explained.
He doubled down on the Trump angle in a separate appearance, mentioning he spoke with the former president about two weeks ago and had "a pretty good feeling he was going in." Tuberville framed it bluntly: "this is not your Democrat war, this is President Trump's war."
Meanwhile, the human cost is becoming clearer. The Pentagon confirmed six U.S. service members have been killed in Iran-related attacks, including a Sunday drone strike on a tactical operations center at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait. Four of those killed were Army Reserve soldiers from an Iowa-based unit.
Trump himself has warned that more bad news is likely on the way. In a Sunday statement, he said there would "likely be more" U.S. service members killed before the conflict ends. As of Tuesday, the U.S. military reported striking nearly 2,000 targets across Iran—airfields, missile launch sites, command facilities. Israel has been focused on high-value targets like Iran's presidential office and a covert nuclear compound in Tehran.
On the other side, the casualty counts are messy. The Iranian Red Crescent reports at least 787 deaths within Iran so far, but independent human rights groups like Hengaw suggest the real toll might be much higher, possibly exceeding 1,500. It's one of those situations where the fog of war makes the full picture hard to see, but the direction is clear: escalation, more strikes, and according to Tuberville, more pain before any relief.
