The United States executed fresh aerial operations on Saturday to target Iranian forces, following reports from American defense officials detailing the first U.S. military fatalities since the resumption of active fighting between Washington and Tehran.
In response, Iran’s supreme leader threatened retaliation.
The leader promised to deliver “unforgettable lessons” to American forces, as state media reported Iranian counter-strikes hitting critical transit points, including bridges, a railway station, and an airport across the Gulf region.
Regional authorities reported additional fallout from the escalating violence, noting that Iranian forces struck a power and water plant alongside a Kuwaiti oil facility.
Meanwhile, the military in Bahrain confirmed that its defensive systems successfully neutralized an incoming wave of Iranian aerial attacks.
Jordan was also subjected to strikes from Tehran. According to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), two American service members lost their lives on Friday while they “defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks” within the country. CENTCOM added that a third service member is currently unaccounted for and remains missing in action.
These latest casualties increase the verified U.S. military death toll to 16 since the broader hostilities ignited on February 28.
By Saturday evening, CENTCOM disclosed that it had initiated its eighth consecutive night of retaliatory bombardment.
The military command stated that the ongoing campaign operations “are designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night.”
According to reports from Iranian media outlets Tasnim and Fars, the American bombardments successfully struck the southern Iranian port city of Sirik, located right on the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
This intense back-and-forth marked a dangerous spike in the conflict, which flared up again just one month after the breakdown of a temporary truce intended to freeze the hostilities.