US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Saturday denied Iranian National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani's claim on X/Twitter that Iran had captured several US soldiers.
“The Iranian regime’s claims of capturing American soldiers are yet another example of its lies and deceptions,” a CENTCOM spokesman told Al Jazeera Arabic.
In his post, Larijani claimed that several US soldiers had been captured during Operation Epic Fury, alleging that Washington reported them instead as killed in order to conceal the incident.
"It has been reported to me that several American soldiers have been taken prisoner," Larijani wrote. "But the Americans claim that they have been killed in action."
"Despite their futile efforts, the truth is not something they can hide for too long."
Ali Larijani claims massive US losses
Larijani added in a seperate Saturday X post, that ""They [the US] are lying that 5-6 American soldiers have been killed," noting that "later, under the pretext of an accident, they will inflate the number of casualties."
Larijani has previously claimed that almost 500 US soldiers were killed in the war by Iranian forces, and threatened further action against Gulf states housing US bases being used as part of Operation Epic Fury.
"When the enemy attacks us from bases in the region, we respond, and we will continue to respond," he said.
"This is our right and a standing policy. Regional countries must either prevent the US from using their territory against Iran, or we will have no choice but to do it ourselves."