US military launches new airstrikes to punish Iran for deaths of US troops

The US military said on Saturday it had launched new airstrikes against Iran to “swiftly punish” the country’s Revolutionary Guard for an attack in Jordan that killed two American service members, left one more missing and four needing hospital treatment.

US Central Command said the strikes were designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to restrict the traffic of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

The waterway accounted for roughly 20% of global oil supplies before the war.

Earlier, Iran’s supreme leader warned of “unforgettable lessons” to follow if the United States keeps attacking the Islamic Republic, and called US president Donald Trump’s signature “worthless and invalid”.

The comments came hours after a negotiator said Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal signed about a month ago.

The statement attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, still unseen since the war began, was read out on state television after the United States and Iran again exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets.

Later, the US military announced the first American troop deaths due to direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war, saying two were killed and another was missing in an attack on a base in Jordan.

A statement said they were killed on Friday as the US and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.

It says four other service members who were were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals were later discharged.

The dead were not identified. Since the war began, 16 US service members have been killed and more than 430 wounded.

US Central Command said early on Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities”.