The US and Iran have intensified their exchange of attacks after two US military personnel were killed in Jordan and another went missing due to an Iranian strike. The US stated it completed an eighth consecutive night of attacks, targeting Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to degrade its ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and punish those responsible for the attacks on American service members. US Central Command (Centcom) indicated that these strikes, initiated on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET (2200 GMT) under US President Donald Trump's directive, focused on Iranian military coastal surveillance, air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites. This brings the total number of US service members killed in the conflict to 16, with over 430 wounded.
Iran retaliated with drone attacks on US military assets and equipment at Kuwait's Al-Ad camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base, according to Iranian state TV. Earlier US airstrikes on Saturday reportedly killed three people and wounded eight in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, which borders the Strait of Hormuz, also damaging two bridges and a road tunnel. Iran's state TV also claimed that its forces destroyed at least two US fighter aircraft and three other aircraft during a missile and drone attack on the US base in Al Azraq, Jordan.
The renewed hostilities come after an interim ceasefire agreement signed in June collapsed last week, with President Donald Trump declaring the deal "over" on July 8. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi announced that the country had suspended its commitments to the memorandum of understanding signed last month. The conflict has seen the US reimpose its blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran declare the Strait of Hormuz closed. Oil prices have reacted significantly, with Brent crude futures for September delivery advancing 4.6% to $88.10 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for August delivery gaining 4.5% to settle at $82.49 on Friday, both reaching their highest since mid-June and seeing weekly gains of approximately 16%.
Since the war began, at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 injured in US strikes in Iran over the past three weeks, according to Iran's health ministry. The US has also targeted critical infrastructure in Iran, such as desalination plants, which cut off water supplies to about 10,000 people and damaged a plant on Qeshm Island. In turn, Tehran has struck power and desalination plants in Kuwait. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded to the deaths in Jordan with a post on X, stating, "Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve."
