SRINAGAR: The United States military carried out its ninth consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting military command centres, air defence systems, coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone infrastructure, as Washington intensified operations amid the escalating regional conflict.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the latest operation began at 10 p.m. ET on July 19, targeting facilities used by the Iranian military, including communications networks. According to CENTCOM, the strikes were aimed at further degrading Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping and civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian media reported explosions in several cities early Monday. The semi-official Tasnim news agency said US missiles struck Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini.
The latest offensive came as the number of confirmed US military fatalities in the renewed fighting increased. The US military said a service member was killed on Saturday in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian attack drone.
Two other US service members were killed on Friday in Jordan during an Iranian missile and drone attack, while another remains missing. CENTCOM said unidentified remains had been recovered from the attack site and are undergoing examination.
According to the US military, the latest casualty brings the total number of American personnel killed since the conflict began to 17, with more than 420 others wounded.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had launched a surprise strike on what it described as an enemy special operations headquarters in Syria’s Al-Tanf region.
Iranian state television also reported drone attacks targeting US military assets at Al-Adiri Camp and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. Kuwaiti authorities said a desalination plant was struck for the second consecutive day, causing a fire, and described the attack as a direct strike on critical civilian infrastructure.
Concerns over maritime security also intensified after the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) received a report of a vessel on fire off the coast of Oman. The cause of the incident had not been independently verified.
Global oil prices reacted sharply to the developments, with Brent crude rising about 3 per cent to above $90 a barrel, its highest level since June 11.
The latest strikes followed CENTCOM’s eighth consecutive wave of attacks, which had targeted Iranian coastal surveillance and air defence facilities.
US President Donald Trump said the latest operation was carried out in response to the deaths of American service members. “We hit them very hard again tonight, and we did it in honour of” the US personnel killed since Friday, he told reporters after returning from the FIFA World Cup final.
Separately, the US Embassy in Bahrain warned that it had received information suggesting Iran could seek to target unspecified locations in central Manama and urged American citizens to remain vigilant.
