Lutnick Apologizes After Falsely Claiming No Americans Died in Iran War; Trump Warns of More Strikes 'Anytime We Want'

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick apologized Thursday, September 3, 2026, after telling CNBC's 'Squawk Box' a day earlier that 'there haven't been American deaths' in the Iran war, calling it 'really just an economic chokeout.' In fact 18 US service members have died and more than 750 have been wounded since the US first struck Iran in February. President Trump pre-empted the controversy with a Truth Social post saying Lutnick 'had Venezuela on his mind when he said nobody was killed. 18 people were killed in Iran!'; Lutnick followed roughly 45 minutes later with his own apology, saying he had confused the Iran war with the earlier Venezuela operation, in which no US troops died. The flap came as Trump, following the CENTCOM strikes on Strait of Hormuz radar sites, warned the US was prepared to hit Iran again 'anytime we want,' with Iran's health ministry putting the latest strike death toll at 18, including victims of a strike on a wedding party in Kuhestak.