United States President Donald Trump has said the latest American strikes on Iran were carried out in honour of three US soldiers. These soldiers were killed in recent attacks in Jordan and Iraq.
According to BBC, Trump said American forces hit Iran “very hard” after two service members died in Jordan. Furthermore, another soldier was killed in northern Iraq.
The US military launched another wave of attacks in the early hours of Monday. This marked the ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran.
Strikes enter ninth night
US Central Command said the operation targeted Iranian military facilities and communications networks. These networks were linked to attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
The military said the strikes aimed to further reduce Iran’s ability to threaten ships using the strategic waterway.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported explosions in several cities, including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini.
Meanwhile, Iran said it retaliated with what it described as a “surprise attack” in Syria. In addition, Iran also targeted US aircraft at Jordan’s Aqaba airport.
Kuwait’s armed forces separately announced that they had intercepted Iranian drones.
The renewed strikes followed the deaths of American troops during attacks linked to Iran.
US officials confirmed that one service member died in northern Iraq on Saturday. A day earlier, an attack on a military base in Jordan killed two soldiers and left another missing.
Authorities later recovered unidentified remains, although officials said verification was still ongoing.
Iran threatens shipping through Hormuz
Iranian state media also reported that two oil tankers exploded while attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the vessels used what it described as an “unsafe and hazardous southern route”. Eventually, these vessels exploded and became immobilised.
However, CENTCOM disputed Iran’s account of the incident.
The IRGC warned that the waterway would remain unsafe for oil, gas and petrochemical shipments while American strikes continued.
It also threatened what it called a “punitive operation” in response to further US military action.
The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the conflict because it serves as a major route for global energy supplies.
Iran has used its control and disruption of the waterway as leverage during the confrontation with Washington.
Diplomatic option remains open
Despite the continued military exchanges, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington remained open to reaching a diplomatic settlement.
He argued that the international community must decide whether it would allow Iran to control an important international shipping route.
“The world has to decide whether or not it’s going to allow an international waterway to be under the control” of Iran, Rubio said.
A preliminary agreement reached in mid-June had temporarily reduced hostilities between the two countries.
However, negotiations towards a permanent settlement made little progress, and Trump declared the agreement “over” on July 8.
The collapse of the arrangement has led to renewed attacks and rising regional tensions. In addition, there are growing concerns about the security of commercial shipping and global energy supplies.
