An American military refuelling plane has crashed in Iraq and rescue efforts are underway, the US military says.

The KC-135 aircraft was part of the operation against Iran, but the crash was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire, it said in a statement.

US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said two aircraft were involved and one landed safely while the other went down in western Iraq. It described the latter as “a loss”.

A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the other plane involved also was a KC-135 tanker.

“More information will be made available as the situation develops,” Central Command said in a statement.

“We ask for continued patience to gather additional details and provide clarity for the families of service members.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any casualties.

Both US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned the Iran war would likely claim more American lives before it ends.

U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft. The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the…

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 12, 2026

The tanker is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the US military’s operations against Iran. Last week, the military confirmed three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.

All six crew members safely ejected from the F-15E Strike Eagles and were in stable condition after being recovered, the US said.

Seven American troops have been killed in combat during the Iran war so far. Six of the service members were killed when an Iranian drone struck an operations centre at a civilian port in Kuwait.

The seventh died after being wounded during an attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

About 140 US service members have been wounded, including eight severely, the Pentagon said earlier this week.

So far the war has killed more than 2000 people, including almost 700 ‌in Lebanon.

Rubble remains in the aftermath of an Israeli-US strike in Tehran. Photo: AAP

In his first statement since succeeding his slain father, Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has declared the country will continue to fight and will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed as leverage against the United States and Israel.

In the defiant address, Khamenei also said the US must close all its bases in the region.

Hours later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his first press conference since the start of the war to make his own strong statement, issuing a veiled threat to kill Khamenei ‌and defending the military assault on Iran.

“I wouldn’t issue life insurance policies on any of the leaders of the terrorist organisation … I don’t intend to give an exact message here about what we are planning or what we are going to do,” Netanyahu said, standing between two Israeli flags and ‌taking questions via video link.

Netanyahu said Israeli attacks had killed a top Iranian nuclear scientist and hit others.

Two tankers were ablaze in an Iraqi port after a hit by suspected Iranian explosive-laden boats, a clear sign of defiance toward US President Donald Trump, who said on Wednesday the United States had already won the war.

Images verified by Reuters as filmed from the Iraqi port of Basra showed ships engulfed in massive orange fireballs that lit up the night sky. At least one crew member was killed.

On another front in the unpredictable war, Israeli airstrikes hit a building ‌in central Beirut on Thursday, sending thick smoke above the Lebanese capital.

Israel also ordered residents out of another swathe of southern Lebanon, intensifying its offensive against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after it fired its biggest volley of rockets into Israel since the start of the war.

–with Reuters