Two U.S. troops killed in Iranian attack on Jordan base
The U.S. military said another service member is missing after Friday’s attack, as Iran said it was suspending commitments under an interim deal.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
4 min read
Two U.S. service members were killed and another is missing after an Iranian attack on a base in Jordan, the U.S. military said Saturday. The deaths mark the first U.S. troop fatalities from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war, according to the military.
The service members were killed Friday while U.S. and partner forces were defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, a U.S. military statement said. Four other U.S. troops who were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan were later released, and the military did not identify the dead.
Since the war began, 16 U.S. service members have been killed and more than 430 wounded, according to the U.S. military. U.S. officials also said 13 additional service members, including 10 Army soldiers and three Navy sailors, had been injured since Monday, but they did not give details.
Iran signals a break from interim deal
Minutes before the U.S. announcement, remarks read on Iranian state television and attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei warned that the United States would face “unforgettable lessons” if it continued attacks on Iran. The remarks also described President Donald Trump’s signature as “worthless and invalid.”
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, told state television that the United States had violated commitments under an interim agreement signed about a month ago. He said Iran was “no longer implementing” its commitments under that deal.
There was no new public word on mediation efforts. U.S. Central Command said early Saturday that a seventh consecutive night of U.S. strikes hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”
Kuwait reports damage to water and oil sites
Kuwaiti authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said Iranian strikes Saturday hit a water desalination plant and an oil facility. They did not provide the locations.
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said several people were injured at the oil facility. Kuwaiti authorities said a fire at the desalination plant forced several power generation units offline, in the second strike on a desalination plant in Kuwait in two days.
Kuwait depends on desalination for 90% of its drinking water, according to Kuwaiti authorities. The Kuwait Fire Force said several firefighters and a worker were hurt while fighting two other fires 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. Iraq said it shot down attack drones over Irbil, while Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency said Jordanian air defenses downed Iranian missiles.
Officials in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia said air sirens sounded in their countries during the day. Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, accused Iran of war crimes over strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.
Strikes widen around the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian state television said U.S. airstrikes hit an electricity and desalination plant in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said the Bonji desalination plant was destroyed, cutting water supplies to about 10,000 people, and that another desalination plant on Qeshm Island was damaged.
IRNA said overnight strikes damaged two tunnels and a bridge, disrupting a main highway toward Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port near the narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz. The agency also said three bridges were hit Saturday, including one on a route to Bandar Abbas.
Iran’s Energy Ministry acknowledged “attacks on power infrastructure” Friday and urged people in southern provinces facing extreme heat to reduce electricity use. Iranian authorities said at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in U.S. strikes over the past three weeks.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that countries hosting U.S. forces should be ready for a “corresponding response,” according to Iranian state television. Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping after the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, and crossings through the waterway have fallen to a three-week low, according to an international shipping tracker.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.