Secretary of State Marco Rubio mourned two young soldiers killed after an Iranian attack on Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, calling their deaths “heartbreaking” and praising them as heroes who paid the ultimate price.
“We forget, we take for granted that our military is so effective that the mission they carry out is very, very dangerous,” Rubio told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before leaving for the Philippines.
The Department of War identified the fallen soldiers as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas.
Gonzales was killed Friday, the day of the Iranian attack. Feehan died the following day. Both served in air-defense units supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the longstanding US-led mission against ISIS.
According to Rubio, American forces intercepted nearly every missile headed toward the base. One still made it through.
“One leaked through, hit the wrong place,” Rubio said.
“It’s heartbreaking. Our hearts go out to these families,” he continued. “These are heroes that pay the ultimate price.”
“Our military all over the world, especially in that part of the world, but all over the world, every single day, do very dangerous things,” Rubio continued. “We’ve had people who lost their lives in training missions. Nothing the military does is safe — it’s all inherently dangerous, and we’re just grateful to have such heroic Americans in uniform in the service of our country.”
“We’re praying for their families and praying for their souls and we are grateful that we have people like that serving us — both those who we have lost and those who at this very moment are on the watch and defending our interests around the world.”
Rubio also acknowledged the death of another American service member in Iraq on Saturday. He described that death as a noncombat accident that occurred while the soldier was decommissioning ammunition.
The losses come amid sustained fighting between the United States and Iran, with American forces striking Iranian military targets and Tehran launching missiles and drones against US positions and regional interests.
Watch the clip below:
🚨 SEC. MARCO RUBIO DELIVERS THIS REMARK FOR FALLEN US TROOPS:
"These are HEROES, that pay the ultimate price."
"We take for granted, that our military is so effective — but the mission they carry out is very, very dangerous. And so we lost people in Jordan after there was a… pic.twitter.com/oRskzcMYZL
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 20, 2026
