US and Iran exchange strikes after two US deaths in Jordan attack
The United States launched a new airstrike against Iran on Saturday night, targeting coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, US military officials said.
US Central Command (Centcom) said the forces successfully hit Iran’s military capabilities, while Iranian state media said Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz was hit.
Centcom said it also targeted Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), which is responsible for Friday’s attack in Jordan that left two US soldiers dead and another soldier still missing.
Iran’s military said it launched drone strikes on two US bases in Kuwait in response to the latest attacks, state media said.
The US and Iran have stepped up their attacks on each other in recent days, and both sides have been accused of attacking critical infrastructure.
On Saturday, an American soldier said he carried out “large-scale attacks with kamikaze drones” on “the warehouse at Camp Udairi” and “Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait,” according to the Tasnim news agency affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Centcom said the US strikes, on its eighth consecutive night of attacks, were “designed to further weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”
In the statement, it was stated that the attacks were “intended to quickly punish the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Forces, which carried out an attack against American soldiers in Jordan last night.”
This followed a week of hostilities in which Washington reimposed a blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran declared the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, with a preliminary ceasefire collapsing less than a month after it began.
In a statement released early Saturday, Centcom said: “Two US service members in Jordan were killed while US Central Command (Centcom) and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing.”
“Out of respect for families, Centcom will retain additional information, including the identities of deceased warriors, until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth responded to the deaths in
The death toll from conflict in the US has risen to 16 after a US Navy pilot who went missing earlier this month was declared dead, marking the second increase in the death toll this week.
Washington and Tehran reached a preliminary agreement to end the war in June, but the deal unraveled within weeks; President Donald Trump declared the deal “over” on July 8.
