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United States launches new strikes on Iran after two US soldiers killed by Iranian attack

New waves of strikes from the US and Iran have claimed more lives, with both sides taking aim at the Strait of Hormuz again.

A massive ball of fire and a thick plume of black smoke erupt near a construction site behind a residential neighborhood.
On 18 July, Kuwait accused Iran of targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure in the country, after reporting attacks on an oil facility and a power and water plant. Source: AFP / UGC / Unknown

In brief

  • The United States military's Central Command said US forces have completed their latest round of strikes on Iran.
  • The strikes came after it announced that two US military personnel were killed in Jordan and another was missing following an Iranian attack.

The United States said it had completed an eighth straight night of attacks against Iran after earlier announcing that two US military personnel were killed in Jordan and another was missing following an Iranian attack.

The US and Iran have intensified ‌attacks since an interim ceasefire deal signed a month ago fell apart last week, raising the possibility of a return to all-out war.

US Central Command said in a statement that the strikes were "designed to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night".

Central Command later said it had completed its wave of attacks, hitting Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defence facilities.

Iran's Mehr news agency said the US carried out an attack near Sirik in southern Iran, adding that no casualties or damage to infrastructure have been reported. The Tasnim news agency said the US military also targeted a location near Shadegan, close to the border with Iraq.

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The Iranian army then carried out a drone attack that targeted US military assets and equipment at Kuwait's Al-Adiri camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base, Iran's state TV reported early Sunday, citing a statement from the army.

Both bases were targeted as part of Iran's attacks against US assets and allies in the Gulf since last week.

Central Command said the two deaths occurred on Friday and that a third US service member was missing in action. The announcement brought the number of US service members killed since the war began to 16, while more than 420 have been wounded.

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X: "Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve."

Iran, responding to US attacks on bridges, power facilities and other infrastructure, appeared to target Saudi Arabia as well as other US Gulf allies and Jordan on Saturday.

In a written statement carried by the official social media accounts of Iran's supreme leader and Iranian state media, Mojtaba Khamenei said repeated US breaches of the interim deal had shown that President Donald Trump's signature was "utterly worthless and devoid of credibility".

"Now that the American enemy is seeking to escalate the conflict thereby incurring even heavier costs and further humiliation, it should know that ‌the noble nation of Iran ‌and the Resistance Front have unforgettable lessons ⁠in store for it," the statement said.

Khamenei, whose whereabouts remain a mystery, also warned the US will pay for "seeking to incite war".

US Gulf allies under attack

The conflict, which began when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran at the end of February hoping to disable its missile program and its regional proxies, has led to major disruption to energy supplies, fears over global inflation and a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

On Saturday, Kuwait came under sustained attack, with the armed forces saying they had intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and that some firefighters and oil sector workers had been injured while responding to the attacks.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had struck a US military support centre at Kuwait's Camp Arifjan and destroyed a radar facility at Ali Al Salem Air Base. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation later said one of its oil facilities had been hit in "repeated Iranian attacks", causing significant damage and some injuries, according to ⁠the state news agency.

As well as hitting Kuwait, the IRGC targeted a site in Bahrain where US combat aircraft were gathered ‌at Sheikh Isa Air Base and an intelligence data centre, Iranian media said.

The IRGC also destroyed at least two US fighter aircraft and three other aircraft during a missile and drone attack early on Saturday on the US base in Al Azraq, Jordan, according to Iranian state TV.

Saudi Arabia's early warning system issued alerts early on Saturday urging residents of Al-Kharj and Yanbu to seek shelter. Al-Kharj, east of Riyadh, is home to a military base that hosts US troops, while Yanbu, on the Red Sea, has a key oil export terminal.

Two people briefed on the matter said an Iranian missile attack, the first on Saudi Arabia in more than three months, had triggered the alerts. Saudi state media did not say what had prompted the alerts and the government media office did not respond to a request for comment.

The IRGC made no mention of any attack on Saudi Arabia.

Strait of Hormuz remains major flashpoint

Earlier, US Central Command said it had hit Iranian surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities.

US airstrikes on Saturday killed three people and wounded eight others in ‌the southern Hormozgan province, which borders the Strait of Hormuz, while two bridges and a road tunnel were damaged, Iranian state TV reported.

Iran's Health Ministry said on Saturday that 50 people had been killed and more than 500 wounded in US strikes on the country over the past three weeks.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accused the United States of seeking control over the Strait of Hormuz, which usually handles around one-fifth of the world's oil supply.

Both sides have taken aim at shipping traffic, with the US saying it is enforcing a naval blockade and Iran saying it targets vessels violating its rules on navigating the strait.

A merchant vessel and military forces were involved in an incident off Oman, United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in a note, without giving further details.

The European Union and Gulf states called on Iran to immediately and unconditionally halt all attacks and interference with maritime navigation and to keep the strait open without conditions or fees, according to a joint statement reported by Saudi state TV on Saturday.


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6 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP, AFP



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