Reuters : The United States launched new strikes against Iran, Central Command said, after it earlier announced that two U.S. military personnel were killed in Jordan and another was missing following an Iranian attack.
Before the strikes on Saturday, Iran’s supreme leader said Washington would pay for “seeking to escalate the conflict.”
“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,” it said, without providing further details.
Iran’s Mehr news agency said the U.S. carried out an attack near Sirik in southern Iran, adding that no casualties or damage to infrastructure have been reported.
The U.S. and Iran have intensified attacks since an interim ceasefire deal signed a month ago fell apart last week, raising the possibility of a return to all-out war.
Central Command said the two deaths occurred on Friday and that a third U.S. service member was missing in action. The announcement brought the number of U.S. service members killed since the war began to 16, while more than 420 have been wounded.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on X: “Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.”
Iran appeared to target Saudi Arabia as well as other U.S. Gulf allies and Jordan on Saturday after U.S. attacks on Iranian bridges, power facilities and other infrastructure.
In a written statement carried by the official social media accounts of Iran’s supreme leader and Iranian state media, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said U.S. actions have shown that Trump’s signature was “utterly worthless and devoid of credibility.”
The statement warned of “even heavier costs and further humiliation” for the United States. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
