Two American service members dead and a third missing as Iran strikes take US death toll to 16
US Central Command announced that two US soldiers were killed in Jordan after their military base was hit by Iran.
In the attack that took place on Friday night, Iran fired ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles at a US military base, and at least one soldier was missing.
CENTCOM said in an X post that four other American soldiers involved in the attack were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and those soldiers were later discharged.
“Out of respect for families, CENTCOM will retain additional information, including the identities of fallen combatants, until 24 hours after next of kin are notified,” the agency said.
The deaths were the 15th and 16th among U.S. troops since the war with Iran began in February; More than 430 people were injured.
The attacks from Iran come at a time when there has been a new offensive in the Middle East in recent days, following the breakdown of negotiations with the Trump administration and the end of the ceasefire.
Friday marked the seventh consecutive night of US strikes against Iran; Iran’s Revolutionary Guard retaliated with tit-for-tat attacks on US targets in Jordan, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Syria.
Shortly before Friday’s attack on Jordan, Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said US attacks on Iran would lead to ‘unforgettable lessons’ for the US and accused President Trump of ‘trying to escalate the conflict’.
Two US soldiers were killed in an attack on Iranian military bases in Jordan on July 17. Image: US attack launched from US Navy cruiser on Friday
Shortly before Friday’s attack on Jordan, Iran’s new religious leader Mojtaba Khamenei said a US attack on Iran would lead to ‘unforgettable lessons’ for the US and accused President Trump of ‘trying to escalate the conflict’.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in February, made the chilling threat through a spokesman on state television.
The Iranian leader said Trump’s signature was now ‘worthless and invalid’ after the temporary ceasefire agreement reached in April and formally agreed last month fell apart dramatically in recent days.
The remarks came hours after a negotiator said Tehran was suspending all previously agreed commitments with the United States in June.
Khamenei also promised to use Iran’s proxy forces in the Middle East, which he calls the ‘Axis of Resistance’, against Trump’s attacks.
The Supreme Leader’s words were read by a spokesman on Iranian state television; because Khamenei was still not seen in public since the beginning of the war; There were reports stating that he was seriously injured in the attacks that killed his father.
This week’s sustained attacks have seen the US and Iran exchange attacks on infrastructure and military targets.
The attacks have intensified the conflict’s focus on the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway bordering Iran that previously carried a fifth of the world’s crude oil.
While the fight over the strait has caused energy prices to soar around the world, new attacks threaten civilian infrastructure, including drinking water desalination plants in Iran.
Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said President Trump’s signature was now “worthless and invalid” after the temporary ceasefire agreement reached in April and officially adopted last month fell apart dramatically in recent days.
US Central Command said in a statement early on Saturday that the seventh consecutive night of attacks hit ‘surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons depots and maritime capabilities’.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Garibabadi, said in a statement to state television that the United States had violated its commitments under the agreement signed about a month ago and that Iran was no longer implementing them.
No new statements were made regarding mediation efforts.
