The US launched airstrikes against Iran on Saturday night, targeting coastal surveillance and air defence facilities in retaliation for an attack that killed two American troops in Jordan the previous day. Iranian state media confirmed strikes on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, while US Central Command (Centcom) stated the operation aimed to degrade Iran’s military capabilities and punish the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) for the Jordan attack, where a third service member remains missing.
Escalating hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran responded with drone strikes on two US bases in Kuwait, according to state media and the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency. The reported targets included Camp Udairi and Ali Al Salem Air Base, described as a "large-scale attack with kamikaze drones." The US strikes, part of an eighth consecutive night of operations, were intended to weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the strategic waterway.
Casualties and political fallout
Centcom confirmed the deaths of two US service members in Jordan, with one additional soldier missing, following Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. The military withheld identities out of respect for the families, pending notification of next of kin. US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth acknowledged the losses on X, stating, "Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve."
The conflict’s US death toll has now reached 16, after a Navy pilot missing earlier this month was declared dead. The latest escalation follows the collapse of a preliminary ceasefire, which Washington and Tehran had agreed to in June but abandoned by early July, with President Donald Trump declaring the deal "over" on 8 July.
