President Donald Trump defended the U.S. military campaign against Iran on Saturday after two American service members were killed in an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Jordan, arguing they made the "ultimate sacrifice" to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Speaking with the New York Post, Trump called the deaths "a shame" but said the mission remains critical.

"They did it because they don't want to see Iran have a nuclear weapon," Trump said of the fallen service members. "… And it just shows you how bad [the Iranians] are."

When asked whether he planned to contact the families of the two service members, Trump replied, "Of course I will. I always do. Yeah."

Trump's comments came as U.S. Central Command announced a new wave of airstrikes against Iran, saying the strikes are intended to further degrade Tehran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces responsible for the attack in Jordan.