DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military announced new airstrikes against Iran on Sunday, stating the action aimed to “swiftly punish” the Iranian Revolutionary Guard following an attack on a base in Jordan that resulted in the deaths of two American service members, leaving one missing and four others needing medical care.
According to U.S. Central Command, the strikes aimed to diminish Iran’s capability to impede oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Prior to the conflict, this strategic waterway accounted for about 20% of the world’s oil supply. The strait was effectively closed to maritime traffic by Iran after the war began with joint U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28.
The latest airstrikes followed the U.S. military’s announcement of its first troop fatalities from direct Iranian fire since the conflict’s early days, after a drone and missile assault on a base in Jordan on Friday. The identities of the deceased were not disclosed, and Central Command provided no further details regarding the fatalities.
Since the conflict’s onset, the U.S. has suffered the loss of 16 service members, with over 430 wounded.
Strikes Target Southern Iran
According to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, an area near Sirik on the Strait of Hormuz was struck around 1:30 a.m. local time. Local authorities in the southern Hormozgan province reported the attack.
In the same province, a location near Hajiabad was also hit, with explosions heard in Bandar Abbas, as per IRNA. Iran’s state-run broadcaster, IRIB, reported that an area near Qeshm Island within the strait was targeted as well.
On Saturday, Iranian state media reported U.S. airstrikes damaging an electricity and desalination plant in Hormozgan, impacting tunnels and bridges, and disrupting a main highway leading to Bandar Abbas, Iran’s principal port near the strait’s narrowest point.
An official in Khuzestan province stated that a strike occurred near the city of Shadegan, according to state media.
Donald Trump has threatened to target Iran’s power stations and bridges, aiming to pressure Tehran into easing its control over the Strait of Hormuz.
This past week, the U.S. reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to stop crude oil shipments. The military announced on Saturday that it had redirected five ships and disabled one in that timeframe.
Iranian authorities claimed that U.S. strikes over the past three weeks have killed at least 50 individuals and injured more than 500, including eight fatalities from a bridge strike on Friday.
Strikes Hit Iraq’s Kurdish Region
In Iraq, a base of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, an Iranian Kurdish dissident group located near Irbil, was hit by a drone early Sunday, injuring eight members of the group, according to military official Rebaz Sharifi.
Explosions from air defenses were also reported by residents of Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, early Sunday.
Over the last four days, Irbil has faced multiple drone attacks, coinciding with new Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s visit to Washington last week amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, though historically, both Iran and Iran-backed Iraqi militias have conducted assaults in the Kurdish region, which hosts U.S. troops and armed Kurdish Iranian dissident groups.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Warns Of ‘Unforgettable Lessons’
Minutes before the U.S. announced the troop deaths on Saturday, Iran’s supreme leader issued a warning of “unforgettable lessons” should the U.S. continue its attacks on the Islamic Republic.
The statement, broadcast on state TV and attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, criticized President Donald Trump’s signature as “worthless and invalid.” An Iranian negotiator disclosed that Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal reached about a month ago, intended to end the fighting permanently.
Iran’s joint military command stated that any U.S. “covetousness, bullying, totalitarianism or brutality” would provoke a “devastating response.”
Tehran’s announcements further strained the fragile situation as the conflict shows no end in sight. Khamenei warned of “lessons” from both Iran and its regional proxies, dubbed the “Axis of Resistance.” In response, the U.S. issued a global travel alert amidst rising tensions.
The battle has concentrated on controlling the Strait of Hormuz. The expanding strikes now pose threats to civilians and infrastructure, including desalination plants critical for drinking water, while the global economy remains on high alert.
According to Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, the U.S. has breached its commitments under the deal, prompting Iran to cease implementing them, as reported on state TV.
No new developments on mediation efforts were reported.
U.S. Soldiers Face Growing Risks
The most recent recorded death of a U.S. service member involved a helicopter pilot who crashed in the Arabian Sea earlier this month. At the conflict’s outset, an Iranian drone strike on a command center in Kuwait resulted in six soldier casualties. Another soldier died in an attack on a base in Saudi Arabia, and six were killed when a refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq.
Significant damage from Iranian strikes was reported on Saturday in Kuwait, affecting a water desalination plant and an oil facility, according to Kuwait authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Both declined to specify locations.
This marked the second attack against a desalination plant in two days in the small desert nation that relies on desalination for 90% of its drinking water. The strikes injured several people at the oil facility, ignited a fire at the desalination plant, and caused several power generation units to go offline.
Several firefighters and a worker sustained injuries while combating two additional fires caused by Iranian strikes, according to the Kuwait Fire Force. Kuwait temporarily closed its airspace due to missile threats, and Kuwait Airways announced rescheduling most flights to and from the capital.
According to Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency, the kingdom’s air defense systems intercepted Iranian missiles, while air raid sirens sounded multiple times throughout the day in Bahrain and in the morning in Saudi Arabia, as reported by their respective governments.
The secretary-general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, accused Iran of war crimes for strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.
This story has been corrected to change the day to Sunday from Saturday to reflect the Dubai, United Arab Emirates Dateline.
Ezzidin reported from Cairo and Toropin from Washington. Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Stella Martany in Irbil, Iraq; and Matt Lee and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
