Two U.S. service members were killed and another is missing following an attack on a base in Jordan, the U.S. military announced Saturday. The service members died Friday during a defense against ballistic missile and drone attacks, according to a statement. Four other service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and later discharged.
Since the current conflict began, 16 U.S. service members have been killed and over 430 wounded. The fatalities were not immediately identified.
Separately, Iran’s supreme leader warned of "unforgettable lessons" if the U.S. continues its attacks on the Islamic Republic. These remarks were attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei and read out on state TV. Hours before these comments, a negotiator stated Tehran was suspending its commitments to an interim deal aimed at ending the fighting.
Tehran declared it was no longer implementing the deal, with Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, telling state TV that the U.S. had violated its commitments under the agreement signed approximately one month prior. Khamenei also warned of "lessons" not only from Iran but also from its regional proxies, referred to as the "Axis of Resistance."
Infrastructure Damage in Kuwait
The most significant damage from Iranian strikes on Saturday occurred in Kuwait, where a water desalination plant and an oil facility were hit, according to Kuwaiti authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Locations were not provided.
Several individuals were injured at the oil facility, and a fire broke out at the desalination plant, causing several power generation units to go offline. This was the second attack on a desalination plant in Kuwait in two days; the nation relies on desalination for 90% of its drinking water.
The Kuwait Fire Force reported that several firefighters and a worker were injured battling two other blazes ignited by Iranian strikes. Kuwait briefly closed its airspace due to missile threats, and Kuwait Airways announced rescheduling of most flights to and from the capital.
Regional Air Defense Engagements
In other regional developments, Iraq reported shooting down attack drones over the city of Irbil. Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency stated that the kingdom's air defense systems had downed Iranian missiles. Air sirens were heard multiple times in Bahrain throughout the day and in Saudi Arabia on Saturday morning, according to their respective governments.
Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, the secretary general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, accused Iran of war crimes for its strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.
U.S. Strikes Target Iranian Infrastructure
The U.S. Central Command stated early Saturday that its seventh consecutive night of strikes targeted "surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities."
Iranian state television reported that U.S. airstrikes hit an electricity and desalination plant in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province. The Bonji desalination plant was reportedly destroyed, cutting off water supplies to approximately 10,000 people, and a desalination plant on Qeshm Island was damaged, according to IRNA.
Overnight strikes also damaged two tunnels and a bridge, disrupting a main highway route toward Bandar Abbas, Iran's primary port located near the narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz. IRNA reported that three bridges were hit on Saturday, including one on a route to Bandar Abbas.
Iran acknowledged "attacks on power infrastructure" during U.S. airstrikes for the first time on Friday, with its Energy Ministry issuing a call for reduced power consumption in southern provinces facing "extreme heat." The ministry did not specify which facilities were struck.
Iranian authorities have reported at least 50 people killed and over 500 wounded in U.S. strikes over the past three weeks, including eight killed in a bridge strike on Friday.
Strait of Hormuz Control
The conflict has intensified over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that previously carried a fifth of the world's crude oil. Iran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic after the war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, a move that sent oil prices soaring and has given Tehran significant leverage in negotiations.
Iran asserts sole control over the strait and proposes that vessels pay fees to Tehran, despite the waterway being considered international for decades. Iran has fired on ships in recent days, and crossings through the strait have fallen to a three-week low, according to an international shipping tracker.
President Trump has renewed threats to target power stations and bridges in an effort to compel Iran to ease its control. The U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports last week to halt crude oil shipments.
While a growing amount of the region's energy is transported via pipelines, it is insufficient to compensate for the decline in shipping. Before the current conflict, the U.S. had been engaged in talks with Iran regarding its nuclear program. Trump now faces political pressure to end the war and avoid a prolonged Middle East conflict, an outcome he campaigned against.