President Donald Trump said the latest US strikes on Iran hit "very hard" and were carried out in honour of three US soldiers killed, including two in Jordan and one in Iraq.
In the early hours of Monday local time, US Central Command announced a new wave of attacks on Iranian military sites and communications networks, aimed at dampening Tehran’s assaults on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran responded by claiming a surprise attack in Syria and targeted US aircraft at Jordan’s Aqaba airport, while Kuwait’s armed forces reported intercepting Iranian drones.
Iranian semi‑official Tasnim news agency said several cities were hit, including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini. State media also reported that two oil tankers exploded while trying to cross the strait.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated the tankers were on an unsafe southern route and that the strait would remain unsafe for petrochemical transit unless US strikes ceased, adding a punitive operation will follow.
Earlier this weekend, the US confirmed a service member was killed in a northern Iraq attack by Iran, and an attack on a base in Jordan killed two US soldiers with another missing. Unidentified remains were found and verification is ongoing.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US remains open to a diplomatic solution, while condemning Iran’s use of the crucial shipping route as leverage. The preliminary ceasefire deal reached in mid-June has unraveled, with negotiations for permanent peace stalled after Trump declared the agreement "over" on 8 July.
