Two U.S. service members were killed and another is missing after an Iranian missile attack on an air base in Jordan, the U.S. military said Saturday, as hostilities escalated following the collapse of a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
Hours after U.S. Central Command announced the deaths, it said on social media that its forces launched fresh attacks against Iran to “degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night.”
The attacks mark the eighth consecutive day that the U.S. military has bombed Iran.
The latest casualties in Jordan, which bring the U.S. military’s death toll from the Iran war to 16, are the first American combat deaths since a tentative deal between the United States and Iran in April had reduced the fighting as the two sides sought to work toward a broader peace.
Four service members were evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and have since been discharged, and other personnel evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty.
In a signal that the conflict would only intensify, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wroteon X: “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.”
The strike on the Jordanian base was part of a wave of attacks by Iran on U.S. allies in the Middle East that also targeted sites in Kuwait and Bahrain.
A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the Iranian attack Friday struck Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, relying on at least one missile.
It was the latest of at least three attacks in Jordan that inflicted damage or caused injuries to U.S. troops over the past week, the official said.
The U.S. death toll of 16 since the war began on Feb. 28 includes fatalities during combat and the death of a Navy pilot who was declared missing after a helicopter crash in early July. Another U.S. soldier died in a medical incident during the conflict.
Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, earlier Saturday accused the United States of breaching the memorandum of understanding that was signed in June and established the ceasefire, according to a statement on Saturday released by Iranian state media.
Khamenei said it showed that President Donald Trump’s signature was “utterly worthless and devoid of credibility.” The statement also warned of “unforgettable lessons” in store for the United States.
The U.S. military used fighter aircraft, drones and warships to strike Iran overnight into Saturday. Centcom said it had hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”
Iranian state media reported that U.S. strikes had continued to hit critical infrastructure, including bridges and a desalination plant in Jask, a southern Iranian county. Reports cited the head of the local water utility company saying that 10,000 people would be left without water.
At issue for the U.S. and Iran is control of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway in the region that is vital to international shipping. Traffic through the strait has slowed sharply since the conflict flared up again, driving up oil prices.
Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said Saturday that there had been an attack on a power and desalination plant in the country. Coming after a similar attack on Friday, the strike raised fears about escalation and the potential impact on desert nations in the Persian Gulf, which rely heavily on desalinated water.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said ballistic missiles and drone attacks had been intercepted, but that oil, electricity and water facilities were affected, with fires causing “significant damage” to infrastructure.
Bahrain’s Defense Force also announced that it had intercepted a number of “treacherous Iranian drones and missiles” on Saturday.
Jordan’s Armed Forces said it intercepted four drones that entered its airspace, according to the country’s official news agency.
Since the Iran war began more than four months ago, global prices for goods such as fuel and groceries have climbed because of the slowdown in commercial vessels crossing the strait.
The economic pain has weighed heavily on Trump’s approval ratings. Congressional Republicans are increasingly fearful that a voter backlash could cost them control of the House and possibly the Senate in November.
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