A woman walks past images of Iran’s current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei (R) and his predecessors: his slain father Ali Khamenei (L) and the late Ruhollah Khomeini (2nd L) on their way to the Great Masala in Tehran on July 5, 2026, for Ali Khamenei’s funeral ceremony.
Ozan Kose | Afp | Getty Images
The U.S. military said Saturday that two U.S. service members in Jordan were killed Friday during operations in Jordan as U.S. Central Command and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Another soldier is missing, according to Centcom.
President of the United States Donald Trump ordered the military to carry out more airstrikes starting at 6 p.m. ET to “reduce Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz” and “punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces that attacked US troops in Jordan last night.” according to Centcom.
The death toll came after Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, said the country had suspended its obligations under a memorandum of understanding signed last month with the United States after US forces struck the country for a seventh consecutive night.
“The United States has violated and suspended all of its obligations under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding,” he said. “We have also suspended our commitments, we are not fulfilling them and we are busy defending the country.”
When asked about Iran no longer complying with the interim peace deal, Trump responded a NewsNation reporter“I couldn’t care less.”
The fragile truce signed by the US and Iran last month has continued to crumble the last round of combatwith both sides carrying out pinpoint airstrikes in the region. The interim agreement was intended to resume operations strategically important Strait of Hormuz and stop the conflict.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said the country was waiting for “unforgettable lessons” for the US
“Now, as America’s enemy seeks to inflame war and incur greater costs, he must know that the Iranian nation and the Resistance Front have #unforgettable_lessons in reserve for this,” the Islamic Republic of Iran said in a statement Khamenei on X.
Khamenei said the repeated US attacks showed that Trump’s signature on the memorandum of understanding was “absolutely worthless and not credible.”
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The US death toll rose to 16 killed in action
According to MS Now, the two additional deaths of US troops in Jordan add to the previously confirmed deaths of 14 other troops killed in action since the war began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Trump in a telephone interview with a NewsNation reportercalled the death of two soldiers “very sad, it’s a very sad thing.”
“We hate to see that. It’s in the service of our country,” and he repeated his pledge that the U.S. would “never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth answered to the deaths on X: “God forbid, heroes. Their sacrifice only strengthens our resolve.”
Earlier in the day, Centcom said the US had completed a seventh straight night of strikes against Iran, as Kuwait and Bahrain reported Iranian missile attacks and commercial shipping continued to face disruption.
“CENTCOM continues to hold Iran accountable to the Commander-in-Chief while maintaining a full naval blockade of Iranian ports,” the X statement said.
Centcom said the attacks, which ended at 9:30 p.m. ET on Friday, struck “military logistical infrastructureunderground weapons caches and naval potential’.
The military also said its forces had intercepted several vessels in recent days.
“During the first three days of the renewed deployment, US forces diverted 4 commercial vessels, disabled 1, and boarded 1 to ensure full compliance,” Central Command said in a separate statement. statement.
Struggle for the Strait of Hormuz
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had intercepted four vessels trying to pass under US protection through the Strait of Hormuz.
“In the course of a coordinated missile and drone operation, all four were stopped and immobilized at sea,” Iranian news agency IRNA quoted the IRGC Navy command as saying. post on X.
Iran also appeared to continue its attacks on regional targets.
Kuwait said its air defenses were “responding to hostile drone threats”.
It also talks about Iran attacking him power plant and water distillation plant It led to a fire, but there were no casualties, reports the X Agency of Kuwait. It was the second attack on Kuwaiti water facilities in two days.
There is Kuwait of course to be overwhelmingly dependent on desalination for drinking water, with nearly 90% of dryland water needs met through desalination plants.
This was reported by Kuwait Airways most flights were postponedblaming “hostile missile and drone attacks following Iranian aggression.”
The government of neighboring Bahrain said early Saturday that its air defense systems had intercepted several Iranian projectiles and sounded sirens to warn residents.
On Friday, Iran said it had struck the US military Syria and Bahrain.
“Great victory in Iran”
Despite the new attacks, Trump insisted the war with Iran was going well, telling the American public on Thursday in prime time: “We are winning in Iran, too, and you will see the fruits of that work very, very soon.”
The US president had threatened to strike Iran’s bridges and power plants next week if the country refuses to return to the negotiating table.
Ian Lesser, a distinguished fellow at the Washington-based think tank GMF, said there is a risk that the US and Iran will get bogged down in the so-called forever war.
“There is a risk of that, but of course we’ve been in a cold war and sometimes a hot war with Iran for decades,” Lesser told CNBC in a video call.
“I think in some ways it’s a misjudgment of the current administration. But it’s also part of the pattern of the American approach to the use of force that we have tremendous capability and tremendous operational prowess, and we’re held back by strategic mistakes,” he added.
Oil prices rose sharply on Friday amid ongoing unrest in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures and West Texas Intermediate futures for the past six months.
International standard Brent oil Futures for September delivery rose 4.6% to $88.10 a barrel on Friday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for August delivery rose 4.5% to $82.49. Both were the highest since mid-June.
Both benchmarks are up about 16% for the week, with Brent on track for its third straight weekly gain and WTI for its second.
— Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
