The United States launched a new wave of air strikes against Iran, with the military saying the operation was aimed at weakening Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and retaliating for an attack on US forces in Jordan that killed two US soldiers.In a post on X, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes began at 6pm ET on the orders of President Donald Trump.US Central Command said: “Today at 6 p.m. ET, US forces began launching new airstrikes against Iran at the direction of the Commander-in-Chief. The strikes are intended to further weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and to quickly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces that launched attacks against US service members in Jordan last night.”
The latest operation represents another escalation in the conflict between the United States and Iran. According to US Central Command, the strikes target Iranian military capabilities linked to threats against maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces, which Washington holds responsible for the attack on US personnel in Jordan.The US operation follows Friday’s Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on the Mowaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, where US and partner forces were defending against the attack.
Two US service members were killed in action, one remains missing, while four others were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan and have since been released, US Central Command said. Other employees who were treated for minor injuries have returned to duty.
The army said it would withhold the identities of those killed until their families were notified.The latest attack brought the US military death toll in the Iranian conflict to 16 service members, according to US officials.The US military did not reveal the locations targeted in the latest wave of strikes or issue a preliminary battle damage assessment. Iran did not immediately comment on the operation.
