US strikes Iran after 2 service members killed in Jordan

The US military said it carried out its eighth consecutive night of strikes on Iran.

US forces “successfully hit Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites to continue degrading Iranian military capabilities,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement posted to X.

They “also targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces that launched attacks against US service members in Jordan on July 17.”

Two American soldiers were killed, one remains missing and four are injured.

In an earlier statement, US Central Command said the strikes aimed to “swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night.”

Two US bases in Kuwait were hit with drones in response to US attacks on Iranian territory, Iran’s army said on Sunday.

The Islamic Republic’s army said it carried out “large-scale attacks with kamikaze drones against the US military’s ammunition depot at Camp Udairi and the Patriot radar system and air surveillance radar at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait,” according to a statement carried by the state broadcaster.

The US military said it was launching new airstrikes on Iran to “swiftly punish” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard after deadly attacks on US troops.

“The strikes are designed to further 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,” US Central Command, or CENTCOM, posted on X.

Two American service members were killed in Jordan and another was missing after an Iranian attack.

The head of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has criticized Iranian strikes on Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan in a statement on Saturday, including accusing Tehran of war crimes for targeting Kuwaiti infrastructure sites.

“Iran’s actions constitute a highly dangerous escalation, a grave violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, as well as war crimes requiring international accountability and prosecution, given the deliberate targeting of infrastructure and civilian facilities in flagrant violation of all international norms and conventions,” GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi said in a statement.

He also accused Iran of demonstrating a “persistent determination to destabilize regional security and stability.”

The GCC is made up of six members in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Kuwait has reported attacks on power and water plants on two consecutive days, as well as an oil company reporting injuries and “significant material losses” at one of its facilities.

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry had said targeting such facilities demonstrated “a systematic hostile approach targeting civilian sites and vital infrastructure that endangers the lives and safety of civilians.”

The GCC’s al-Budaiwi hails from Kuwait.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that two US soldiers were killed and one is missing in action after Iranian attacks on Jordan on Friday.

It said it sustained the casualties as US troops and partners forces “defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.”

It did not specify where the attack or attacks took place more specifically.

“Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty.” CENTCOM also said.

The series of online posts attributed to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei appear to have come to a halt.

They culminate with praise for the bravery of the military and of residents in southern areas that have come under fire.

“The valor of the Islamic fighters and the honor of the courageous people in the southern regions in recent days are examples of” the “unforgettable lessons” in store for the US, Khamenei wrote.

The message concluded with an appeal for national unity, saying that the “fundamental imperative” was “upholding the sacred unity throughout all levels of people and officials, and protecting the dignity and independence of our beloved Iran, particularly in the face of the criminal, cunning US enemy.”

Iran has issued a statement attributed to new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard in public for months, following the renewed clashes in the region and the elaborate funeral for his predecessor this month.

It also published the message in English, seemingly for global consumption.

“The repeated breaches of the agreement by the Great Satan [the US] regarding the MOU signed by the Presidents of Iran and the US have once again laid bare a fundamental truth: the signature of the US President is utterly worthless and devoid of credibility,” he was quoted as saying.

The series of posts also alleged that “coercion, totalitarianism and brutality are inseparable components of the US creed and doctrine.”

The new supreme leader or his mouthpiece also praised Iranian citizens who participated in the funeral ceremonies for his predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, this month.

He said that the “steadfast will of tens of millions” had thrown “Iran’s arrogant enemies into bewilderment, rage and fright.”

The new supreme leader’s father and much of his family were killed in the US and Israeli strikes at the start of the conflict on February 28. He is thought to have been severely wounded in the same attacks and has made no public appearances since.

Spain’s 2010 World Cup winner Joan Capdevila has appealed directly to US President Trump seeking permission to enter the US.

Capdevila said he had been denied entry as he sought to travel to watch Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina in New Jersey.

“I need help Donald Trump,” he wrote online. “They just told me that I can’t travel to the final with my kids because my ESTA [Electronic System for Travel Authorization] has been denied. Can anyone help me with this? You have no idea how excited I was to be there with all my 2010 teammates and this team to cheer them on.”

The 48-year-old also sent a separate message to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Capdevila took part in an exhibition game 10 years ago when a team of former La Liga stars traveled to play in Tehran.

As a Spaniard, Capdevila would typically be eligible to enter the US with an ESTA for a period of 90 days or less, rather than obtaining a visa.

But one of the disqualifying criteria is if a person has traveled to Iran more recently than March 1, 2011.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has left Beirut, bound for Washington D.C. at the invitation of his opposite number Donald Trump.

Although it’s not confirmed by either side, a meeting between Aoun and Trump is deemed a probable component of the visit.

Aoun will hold discussions “with several American officials on the situation in Lebanon and ways to strengthen the ceasefire,” particularly in the south, as well as on “the withdrawal of Israel from the Lebanese regions it occupies,” Lebanon’s presidency said.

The US has been leading mediations between Israel and Lebanon seeking to build on a ceasefire agreement in the latest round of conflict between Hezbollah and Israel that’s drastically reduced the volume of conflict since mid-April. The parties also signed a new “framework agreement” in late June.

However, Israel still occupies a self-declared “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon, which it says is necessary to protect northern areas near the de facto border.

The talks are seeking to arrange Israeli troops withdrawing from some southern areas, with the Lebanese military moving in and disarming and removing Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters as the other side of the deal.

Lebanon’s government and military is not a party to the war with Israel, just as Hezbollah is not party to the negotiatons brokered by the US, complicating the process. Israel and Lebanon also do not have diplomatic relations.

As fighting began in early March, Aoun’s government tried and failed to forbid Hezbollah from striking Israel in response to the attacks on Iran.

Aoun will be the first Lebanese president to visit Washington since Michel Sleiman was received by Barack Obama in 2009.

The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) on Saturday reported significant damage to one of its oil facilities after “repeated Iranian attacks,” according to the state news agency.

“A vital location in the oil industry was struck by repeated brutal Iranian attacks that resulted in a number of injuries and significant material losses,” news agency KUNA cited the KPC as saying.

Earlier, Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy reported an Iranian attack on a power plant and a water desalinization plant.

The attacks come after Iran on Friday threatened to attack infrastructure in Gulf countries allied with the US.

Kuwait’s Foriegn Ministry accused Iran of “endangering the lives and safety of civilians” with the attacks on vital infrastructure.

“The Ministry affirms that the repeated targeting of these vital facilities reveals a systematic pattern of aggression against civilian objects and essential infrastructure,” a statment posted on X in Arabic said.

“This constitutes a flagrant violation of international law … the Ministry holds Iran fully responsible for this brutal aggression and its consequences, demanding an immediate cessation of such attacks.” it added.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy reported that a power and water desalination plant was targeted by a “hostile attack” on Saturday.

In a statement, the ministry said a fire broke out in one of the plant’s components, and some power generation units were disconnected as part of emergency measures to ensure the stability of the electrical grid to “limit any potential impact on service.”

Kuwait’s fire service said several firemen and a worker were injured responding to fires that erupted in two different locations following the Iranian attacks.

Iran’s military has said it targeted a US-used air base in Bahrain in retaliation for American strikes.

Attack drones struck “aircraft shelters and parking areas, fuel storage tanks of the US military at Sheikh Isa Air Base, as well as several connecting bridges in Bahrain,” the Iranian army said on Saturday, according to state broadcaster reports.

It added that the base was “one of the most important operational and logistical centres” for the US military in the region.

The reports could not be independently confirmed, and the US military has not yet commented.

Bahrain’s military said in a statement Saturday its air defense systems had “intercepted and destroyed” a number of Iranian aerial assaults.

An Iranian missile barrage was neutralized without causing any casualties or material damage, the Jordanian military said on Saturday morning.

“Air defense systems… intercepted 10 Iranian missiles that had entered Jordanian airspace and were targeting the Kingdom’s territory (which) were intercepted and shot down,” the army said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti army wrote on X that it was facing a missile and drone attack due to Iran’s aggression. They also warned that explosions may be heard due to “air defense systems intercepting hostile targets.”

Just hours earlier, the Iranian military claimed to have hit US military targets in the region, including ammunition depots in Kuwait and fuel tanks at the strategic Al-Azraq base in Jordan.

Tehran will switch tactics unless the US stops its strikes soon, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, a senior military adviser to Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told Iranian media.

“If US strikes continue for several more days, we will move into a phase of full-scale offensive operations,” said Rezaei, who once served as the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

“Iran will no longer limit itself to retaliatory, like-for-like responses…and no political border will be safe,” he was quoted as saying by Iran’s news agency IRIB.

His comments came just hours before Iran reportedly launched strikes on US military targets in Kuwaitand Jordan.

The US military launched strikes against Tehran’s “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities” on the seventh day of renewed hostilities between the two sides.

Pentagon said it was still fully enforcing a naval blockade against Iranian ports.

“More than 50,000 American service members are operating across ⁠the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and ready,” CENTCOM wrote in a statement.

CENTCOM also called an Iranian statement that two oil tankers were on fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz “false.”

Previously, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two vessels exploded after trying to navigate “by deceptive American intelligence agencies.”