US commerce secretary erroneously said no Americans have died in Iran war, Trump claims

President said Howard Lutnick had Venezuela operation on his mind when he was discussing Iran war on CNBCDonald Trump has claimed his commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, erroneously stated that no Americans had been killed in the war with Iran because he was thinking about a previous US operation, in Venezuela.The claim, at odds with the Pentagon’s count of 18 US service members dead in the US-Israel war on Iran, sparked a swift backlash as Trump struggles to end the conflict after six months. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick apologized Thursday for saying on television that no Americans had died in the war with Iran, saying he was thinking about Venezuela. 18 members of our ​military have died, and to those families ⁠my heart breaks and I am so ​very sorry for their loss.