US strikes Iran for ninth night after soldier dies in Iraq
CENTCOM said the latest strikes hit Iranian military targets, while Tehran claimed attacks on US aircraft and bases in Jordan.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
The US military carried out a ninth straight night of attacks on Iran early Monday after Central Command said a US service member died in Iraq during the disposal of ordnance from an Iranian drone. The fighting has also brought new warnings for ships in the Strait of Hormuz and for Americans in Bahrain.
CENTCOM said on X that the latest wave of strikes was completed at 02:00 GMT on Monday. It said US forces targeted Iranian military command sites, air defences, coastal surveillance systems, maritime assets, missile and drone launch positions and communications networks.
The command said the operation was intended to reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian crews using the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM did not identify the specific locations hit inside Iran.
Reports from Iran and the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency reported Monday that US strikes hit an area in Khormoj, a town in southwestern Iran, citing a local official. Mehr News Agency reported that an MQ-9 drone was intercepted and shot down over Eslamabad-e Gharb in Kermanshah province by an air defence system operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace force.
The IRGC said two oil tankers exploded and stopped in the southern Strait of Hormuz late Sunday, according to Tasnim. The force said the vessels were trying to pass through the waterway under US pressure and warned that the route would remain unsafe while US military operations continue in the region.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said late Sunday that a vessel caught fire about 8 nautical miles, or 15km, northwest of Kumzar, Oman. UKMTO said the cause had not been verified and advised ships nearby to proceed carefully and report suspicious activity while authorities investigate.
Iran claims attacks in Jordan
The IRGC said Monday it fired ballistic missiles at US C-17 transport aircraft and P-8 aircraft at Aqaba airport in Jordan, claiming several were badly damaged. In a statement carried by the state-controlled IRIB broadcaster, the IRGC also said 20 hangars used by US forces at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq were destroyed.
The US embassy in Bahrain separately said it had information that Iran could target unspecified locations in central Manama. The embassy urged US citizens to stay alert, follow local instructions and take shelter immediately if sirens sound or explosions are heard.
CENTCOM said a US service member was killed Saturday in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from an Iranian drone. No further details about the service member were included in the announcement cited by CENTCOM.
Trump and Araghchi address the war
US President Donald Trump told reporters Sunday that the US was striking Iran to honour American service members who had been killed. Speaking after returning to Washington from the World Cup final in New Jersey, Trump said, “We hit them very hard again tonight,” and referred to “probably three great patriots.”
Al Jazeera reported that at least two US soldiers were killed in Jordan last week after Iranian missiles hit a US base, while the third soldier referenced by Trump was the service member killed in Iraq. Trump said the deaths were tied to efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media that Tehran would end the war with the US when it had “the upper hand in the field,” according to local reports Monday. In comments to IRNA, Araghchi said hostilities could end through military victory or negotiations, but that talks should begin only when Iran has secured what he called a reliable military and strategic gain.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.