US renews strikes on Iran after 2 military personnel were killed by Iranian attack

The United States carried out renewed airstrikes on Iran early Sunday after the US military reported that two American soldiers were killed in an Iranian attack on a military base in Jordan. A third soldier was reported missing, and four others were wounded. The strikes marked the eighth consecutive night of US military action in a conflict with Iran that has been ongoing since February. According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the new strikes were intended to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and to swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces believed responsible for the attack in Jordan.

President Donald Trump described the deaths of the soldiers as a "sad thing" and offered condolences to their families. According to reports, at least 16 US soldiers have died in connection with the conflict since it began in February. The precise circumstances of the attack in Jordan that killed the two soldiers are still under investigation; details regarding location, the type of weapon used, and which specific Iranian units may have been responsible have not been fully established.

Iran, for its part, said it responded to the US strikes by targeting American bases in Kuwait. Iran's army stated it had carried out "large-scale attacks with kamikaze drones" against a US ammunition depot at Camp Udairi, as well as against a Patriot radar system and an air surveillance radar at Ali Al Salem Air Base. These claims were broadcast by Iran's state media and picked up by several international news agencies, including TASS. Independent verification of the extent of the damage has not yet been reported.

The current escalation follows the collapse of an interim ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran that had been reached roughly a month earlier. That agreement fell apart last week after an Iranian negotiator reportedly said Tehran had suspended its commitments under the deal. Since then, both sides have exchanged strikes on a near-daily basis. On Saturday, the seventh consecutive day of hostilities, the US and Iran had already traded attacks on military and infrastructure targets.

During that earlier exchange, according to France24, a water desalination plant and power infrastructure in Kuwait sustained damage. These incidents were reported to be among the most serious civilian-related consequences of the latest wave of attacks. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) strongly condemned Iran's strikes on civilian sites, describing them as war crimes. Iran has not publicly responded to or confirmed this characterization, leaving differing assessments of the events among the parties involved.

The conflict has also expanded regionally. On Friday, Iran reportedly struck targets in eastern Syria for the first time since the war began. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked a US special operations command center at al-Tanf in retaliation for the killing of Iranian soldiers in Iranshahr. According to reports, this marked a new dimension in the conflict, as Syria had not previously been directly drawn into the fighting.

The pattern of events in recent days shows a cycle of reciprocal strikes: US attacks on Iranian military and logistics infrastructure, followed by Iranian retaliation against US bases in Gulf states such as Kuwait. According to official statements, the primary aim of the US strikes has been to limit Iran's capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway of major importance to global oil trade. The exact number of casualties on the Iranian side, as well as the full extent of destruction from the most recent US strikes, remain unclear or are still being assessed.

Overall, reporting from a range of international outlets — including agencies based in Arab, Western, Chinese, and Russian media environments — points to an escalating conflict that has shown little sign of de-escalation since the ceasefire collapsed. It remains uncertain whether and when diplomatic efforts might resume, or what additional targets either side may pursue in the coming days. The international community, particularly Gulf states, is watching developments closely amid growing concern over risks to regional security and global energy supplies.

As the situation continues to evolve, questions remain about the scale of casualties on both sides, the reliability of competing claims regarding specific strikes, and whether further escalation could draw in additional countries in the region, as suggested by Iran's reported strike in Syria.