IRAN – The Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Larijani on Sunday said that Tehran had captured American soldiers, adding that the US is trying to conceal the incident.

“It has been reported to me that several American soldiers have been taken prisoner. But the Americans claim that they have been killed in action,” Larijani wrote on US social media company X. “Despite their futile efforts, the truth is not something they can hide for too long.”

The US military swiftly rejected the claim, saying no American soldiers had been captured.

A spokesperson for US Central Command (CENTCOM) told Al Jazeera that Iran’s claims were false.

Escalating regional tensions followed the Feb. 28 launch of joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, killing more than 1,000 victims, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, over 150 schoolgirls and senior military officials.

The war has triggered widespread regional instability and retaliatory attacks from Tehran against US-linked sites across the region.