US Launches New Strikes on Iran After Two Troops Killed in Jordan

The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran on Saturday evening after two American service members were killed in an Iranian attack on a U.S. base in Jordan, with a third service member reported missing. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the strikes began at 6 p.m. ET (2200 GMT) at the direction of President Donald Trump.

According to CENTCOM, the airstrikes were intended to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. The strikes were also described as intended to "swiftly punish" forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the U.S. blamed for the attacks on American troops. This marked the latest escalation in a series of retaliatory strikes, coming after a seventh consecutive night of U.S. attacks on Iran.

The attack on the U.S. base in Jordan was, according to U.S. officials, the fourth Iranian strike on American forces in the country within five days. The New York Times reported that Jordan has increasingly become a new focal point in the broader U.S.-Iran conflict. In the most recent attack on Friday, two U.S. soldiers were killed and another went missing, marking the first confirmed U.S. troop deaths from Iranian fire in this latest phase of escalation.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, responded with sharp rhetoric. In a written message broadcast on state television, he vowed to teach Washington "unforgettable lessons" and said the United States would "pay" for "seeking to escalate the conflict." Reports indicated that Tehran also announced it would no longer adhere to the terms of an interim ceasefire agreement signed roughly a month earlier, which had collapsed the previous week.

The breakdown of that interim deal has heightened fears of a return to all-out war between the two countries. According to PBS NewsHour, the conflict has now claimed the lives of 16 U.S. service members in total, with more than 430 others wounded. This figure represents a significant increase in American casualties and underscores the escalating intensity of the confrontation.

President Trump addressed the deaths in comments to NewsNation, calling them "a very sad thing." He added, "We hate to see it happen. It's in service to our country." At the same time, he reaffirmed that the United States would "never" allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Trump had previously indicated that retaliatory strikes for the deaths of American personnel were almost certain.

The precise circumstances of the attack in Jordan, including the specific weapons used and the exact Iranian units involved, have not been fully independently verified and rely primarily on official U.S. statements. Jordan's own detailed response to the repeated attacks on its territory was not extensively covered in available reporting.

The international community is watching developments with growing concern, particularly regarding potential impacts on global oil supplies via the Strait of Hormus, through which a significant share of the world's oil shipments pass. Whether the conflict will further intensify in the coming days or whether de-escalation remains possible is not yet clear following these latest events.