U.S. forces conducted another series of airstrikes against Iranian military facilities on Saturday night, targeting coastal surveillance and air defense systems, according to U.S. military officials. These strikes marked the eighth consecutive night of U.S. military action.
U.S. Central Command (Centcom) stated that its forces successfully struck Iranian military capabilities. Iranian state media reported that Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz was targeted. Centcom also indicated that the strikes were aimed at the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), which were held responsible for an attack that killed two U.S. service members in Jordan on Friday. Another service member remains missing from that incident.
In what it described as a response to the latest U.S. strikes, Iran's army reported carrying out drone attacks on two U.S. bases in Kuwait, according to state media. Earlier on Saturday, Iran had claimed to conduct "large-scale attacks with kamikaze drones" against an American military "depot at Camp Udairi" and another at "Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait," as reported by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.
The U.S. strikes were described by Centcom as being "designed to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz." The statement added that the strikes were intended to "swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night."
These recent exchanges follow a week of escalated hostilities. Washington recently reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports, while Tehran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. This intensified conflict comes less than a month after a preliminary ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran collapsed.
Centcom confirmed on Saturday that two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed in action during an engagement where U.S. Central Command and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. The command also stated that one service member was missing and that additional information, including the identities of the fallen, would be withheld for 24 hours following notification of next of kin.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth commented on the deaths via a post on X, saying, "Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve."
The U.S. death toll in the conflict has now reached 16 following the declaration of death for an American Navy pilot who had been reported missing earlier in the month. This marks the second increase in the reported U.S. death toll within the past week.
An initial deal between Washington and Tehran to end the war was reached in June but unraveled within weeks. President Donald Trump declared the agreement "over" on July 8.