Iran live updates: White House calls on other nations to secure Strait of Hormuz

A Marine expeditionary unit with 2,200 Marines aboard three U.S. Navy amphibious ships is being ordered to the Middle East, according to two U.S. officials.

The 31st MEU is permanently deployed to Japan and operates in the INDO-PACOM region, but it is now being ordered to head to the Middle East.

Its deployment does not mean that the unit is going to be used as a ground force for use in Iran, but it offers land, amphibious and aviation assets that can be available to military commanders if needed.

This particular MEU also includes a squadron of F-35 fighter jets and a squadron of MV-22 tilt rotor Osprey aircraft.

Six service members were killed when their refueling aircraft "went down" in friendly airspace in western Iraq, according to U.S. Central Command.

"All six crew members aboard a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased. The aircraft was lost while flying over friendly airspace March 12 during Operation Epic Fury," CENTCOM said Friday.

The KC-135 aircraft went down at approximately 2 p.m. ET on Thursday when two aircraft were involved in "an incident," CENTCOM said in a brief statement, confirming that "one of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely."

Denying Iran nuclear weapons remains a "core mission" for the U.S. in its military operation and it has a "range of options," Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said at a Pentagon press briefing Friday.

"The president's kept his eye focused on nuclear capabilities. And I will say we have a range of options, up to and including Iran deciding that they will give those up, which of course, we would welcome," Hegseth said.

"I would never tell this group or the world what we're willing to do or how far we're willing to go, but we have options for sure," Hegseth said.

Asked about reports that a preliminary inquiry determined that the airstrike on an Iranian school was carried out by the U.S., Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declined to comment.

"We're not going to let reporting lead us or force our hand into indicating what happened in a particular situation because the truth matters," Hegseth said.

"I can report that CENTCOM has designated an investigating officer to complete a command investigation. The command investigation will take as long as necessary to address all the matters surrounding this incident. And the investigating officer is from outside CENTCOM and is a general officer," Hegseth said.