US airstrikes hit Iran after Jordan base attack kills two American troops

The US launched fresh airstrikes on Iran after a deadly attack on its base in Jordan. The retaliation deepened regional tensions, threatened energy routes and endangered civilian infrastructure.Stock photo used for illustrationThe US military said on Saturday it had launched fresh airstrikes against Iran to "swiftly punish" the country's Revolutionary Guard after an attack on a base in Jordan killed two American service members, left another missing and sent four to hospital. The strikes, the US said, were also meant to further weaken Iran's ability to disrupt oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.The developments came as tensions rose sharply across the region. Minutes before the US announcement, Iran's supreme leader warned of "unforgettable lessons" if Washington continued attacking the Islamic Republic, while Tehran also said it was suspending its commitments under an interim deal signed about a month ago to permanently end the fighting.US Central Command said Saturday's deaths were the first American troop deaths caused by direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war. Friday's drone and missile attack on the base in Jordan also injured four other service members, who were taken to hospitals. The dead were not identified. Since the war began, 16 US service members have been killed and more than 430 wounded.The remarks aired on Iranian state television were attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen since the war began. The message also called President Donald Trump's signature "worthless and invalid". Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, later told state TV that the US had violated its commitments under the interim deal and that Iran was "no longer implementing them". There was no new word on mediation efforts. The war has centred on control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 per cent of global oil supplies moved before the conflict. The widening attacks are now threatening civilians and infrastructure, including desalination plants that provide drinking water, while the global economy remains on edge. The US has also issued a global travel alert over the rising tensions.The previous recorded death of a US service member had been that of a helicopter pilot who crashed in the Arabian Sea earlier this month. Earlier in the war, an Iranian drone strike on a command centre in Kuwait killed six soldiers. One soldier died after an attack on a base in Saudi Arabia, and six were killed when a refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq. On Saturday, some of the heaviest damage from Iranian strikes was reported in Kuwait, where authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said a water desalination plant and an oil facility were hit. Neither gave the locations. It was the second strike on a desalination plant in two days in Kuwait, which depends on desalination for 90 per cent of its drinking water. The attacks injured several people at the oil facility and caused a fire at the desalination plant, forcing several power generation units offline. The Kuwait Fire Force said several firefighters and a worker were also injured while tackling two other blazes caused by Iranian strikes. Kuwait briefly closed its airspace because of missile threats, and Kuwait Airways said it was rescheduling most flights to and from the capital.Elsewhere, Iraq said it had shot down attack drones over Irbil. Jordan's state-run Petra news agency said the country's air defence systems had intercepted Iranian missiles. Air raid sirens sounded several times in Bahrain through the day and in Saudi Arabia in the morning, according to their governments. Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, secretary general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, accused Iran of war crimes over strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.US Central Command said early on Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes had hit "surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities" in Iran. Iranian state television said US airstrikes had hit an electricity and desalination plant in the southern province of Hormozgan. State-run news agency IRNA reported that the Bonji desalination plant had been destroyed, cutting off water supplies to about 10,000 people, while a desalination plant on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz was damaged. Overnight strikes also damaged two tunnels and a bridge, disrupting a main highway towards Bandar Abbas, Iran's main port near the narrowest part of the strait. IRNA said three bridges were hit on Saturday, including one on a route to Bandar Abbas.Iran acknowledged "attacks on power infrastructure" during the US airstrikes for the first time on Friday, when its Energy Ministry urged people in southern provinces "experiencing extreme heat" to use less power, though it did not say what had been hit. Iranian authorities said at least 50 people had been killed and more than 500 wounded in US strikes over the past three weeks, including eight people killed in a bridge strike on Friday. As the US and Iran exchanged more attacks across the region, the fighting showed little sign of easing.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Jul 19, 2026 04:24 IST