Two US service members were killed and another is missing after an Iranian missile and drone attack in Jordan on Friday, says US Central Command (CENTCOM).
Four other service members were evacuated to hospitals in Jordan for medical treatment and have since been released, CENTCOM said. Other minor injuries have gone back to work.
The military has not released the names of the two service members killed or provided further details on where or how the attack took place, citing the need to notify their families first.
CENTCOM said Saturday night that the United States, at the direction of President Donald Trump, launched another round of air strikes against targets in Iran. The military called the operation the eighth consecutive night of strikes targeting Iran’s capability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces it said were responsible for the Jordan attack.
The latest developments come amid renewed fighting after a preliminary ceasefire that Washington and Tehran reportedly brokered and then fell apart. The report says the United States has recently re-imposed measures affecting Iranian ports, and Iran has announced the Strait of Hormuz is closed, raising tensions further in the region.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement Saturday that the United States has repeatedly violated the agreement and was seeking to escalate the conflict. He said Iran would respond to what he called American aggression.
Jordan’s military said it had intercepted 10 Iranian missiles that entered its airspace overnight and that there was no damage from the interceptions.
The deaths raise the reported U.S. military death toll in the conflict to 16, after an American Navy pilot who had previously gone missing was declared dead earlier this month, according to the article.
CENTCOM said in its official statement:
Two US service members were killed in action in Jordan defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks alongside the US Central Command (CENTCOM) and partner forces. “One service member is also missing at this time.”
"Godspeed, heroes.” Paying tribute to the fallen personnel, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a post, “Their sacrifice only hardens our resolve."
Separately, the IRGC claimed to have destroyed at least two US fighter jets at Jordan’s Al-Azraq Air Base. Iranian state media carried the claim, which has not been independently verified. CENTCOM declined further comment when asked.
On Saturday, the US State Department issued a global security advisory, calling on Americans to exercise extra caution, particularly in the Middle East, due to the worsening security situation in the region.
Iranian state media reported that the Iranian health ministry said U.S. strikes over the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and injured more than 500. Those figures have not been independently confirmed.
The fighting has also produced competing accusations over attacks on civilian infrastructure. Iran has accused the United States of striking bridges, a train station and an airport, but Washington denies the allegation, saying it has only targeted military objectives. Gulf Cooperation Council officials accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure after Kuwait said a power plant and a water distillation plant were damaged.
International humanitarian law prohibits attacks deliberately aimed at civilians and civilian objects. But civilian infrastructure could lose its legal protection if it is put to military use, depending on the circumstances.
And the crisis has also severely affected global shipping. The United States has reimposed measures aimed at Iranian ports, and Iran's announcement that the Strait of Hormuz is closed has sent maritime traffic through one of the world's most important energy shipping routes into chaos.
