US strikes for 9th night in a row as Iran hits back, and conflict escalates

The United States launched another wave of airstrikes against Iran early Monday, marking the ninth consecutive night of attacks since a ceasefire collapsed on July 8, but despite Trump administration claims, Iranian military actions have killed several US personnel.

An Iranian drone and missile strike on Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base killed two U.S. service members, left one missing, and injured several more.

The Pentagon announced that another U.S. service member was killed in northern Iraq while troops were working to dispose of an Iranian drone.

In retaliation, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) carried out a massive series of airstrikes on Iranian targets, hitting surveillance facilities, logistics hubs, and desalination plants.

U.S. Central Command said the strikes hit Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites.

Iranian state media reported strikes hit the northwestern city of Tabriz, expanding beyond previous attacks that had mainly focused on sites along the Persian Gulf coast in southern Iran.

The deaths of three more American service members bring to 17 the total number of American military personnel killed since the United States and Israel launched unprovoked attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.

President Donald Trump told reporters after attending the FIFA World Cup final that the strikes were carried out in response to the deaths of U.S. service members in the region.

“We hit them very hard again tonight,” Trump said. “Those great people, those great patriots, were out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

At least 17 U.S. military personnel have been killed since the war began in late February, according to the Pentagon.

In recent days, both sides have been accused of hitting key infrastructure. At the same time, Washington has reinstated its blockade of Iranian ports, while Tehran has declared the Strait of Hormuz closed and targeted U.S. allies in the region, following the collapse of a preliminary ceasefire less than a month after it began.

The renewed blockade pushed oil prices up to $83 a barrel, but after months of conflict, global reserves are running low as both national and commercial stockpiles have been tapped to ease shortages.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Monday it struck U.S. military targets in Kuwait, claiming to have “completely destroyed” an early-warning radar system and hit a hangar of MQ-9 drones at Ali Al Salem Air Base. Sirens sounded in Bahrain to warn of potential retaliatory strikes, with the U.S. Embassy warning that “Iran may seek to target unspecified locations in central Manama.”

Iran has broadened its strikes in Jordan to hit targets in the south, aiming to raise the stakes for US actions against Iran and its regional allies.

On July 19, the Jordanian Military reported that Iran fired four ballistic missiles at Aqaba in southern Jordan. Jordan’s air defense systems intercepted three, while the fourth landed harmlessly in an open area.

On July 19, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran reported that the United States had attacked the Darkhovin Nuclear Power Plant in Khuzestan Province. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that the plant was still in the early stages of construction and that no nuclear material was found during its most recent inspection. However, an Israeli analyst claimed the facility’s reactor was already at an advanced stage of development.

The latest escalation follows the collapse of an interim agreement between Washington and Tehran that had briefly paused hostilities. The preliminary deal, reached in mid-June, had called for the Strait of Hormuz to be fully reopened but contained language suggesting Iran would manage traffic and potentially charge fees.

Iran has insisted it has the right to control the strait. The U.S. maintains the waterway should be open to all and toll-free.

The conflict began Feb. 28 with a surprise U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. Fighting was temporarily paused under the memorandum of understanding, but hostilities resumed after Iran attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Since then, the U.S. has restored a naval blockade on Iranian ports and struck targets across the country. Iran has broadened its retaliatory strikes to include Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.

“For all practical purposes, the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of (Mis)Understanding is over. The dispute over how to manage the Strait of Hormuz in the interim has pushed the two sides back into open war. But to what end?,” asked Trita Parsi, an executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. “There is little reason to believe another round of fighting can alter the fundamentals enough to change the reality from which the two sides must ultimately negotiate. If they are fortunate, the MOU’s collapse may yield another round of talks in which the allure of reshaping facts on the ground through force has finally faded.”

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency reported Monday that a vessel was on fire 8 nautical miles northwest of Oman’s Kumzar in the Strait of Hormuz, though the cause had not been verified.