US strikes Iran again after Jordan troop killings, conflict nears wider war

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 19, 2026 23:46 IST

The United States launched fresh airstrikes on Iran on Sunday in response to the killing of US troops in Jordan, while Iran fired missiles towards Jordan, raising the risk of the conflict spreading to neighbouring Israel.

The latest exchange has pushed Washington and Tehran closer to all-out war after last month’s interim deal, meant to permanently end the fighting, began to fall apart. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled, and both sides have struck civilian infrastructure used by millions of people.

The US military said the latest strikes targeted Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for Friday’s killing of troops in Jordan. The campaign, now in its second week, has seen the US hit bridges, water desalination plants and electrical facilities in Iran, while Tehran has struck US-allied countries across the Middle East.

US Central Command said it hit “Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defence facilities, maritime capabilities and missile and drone storage sites”. It said the attack was meant to reduce Iran’s ability to control the strait and “swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces”, which control Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal. Footage released by the US military appeared to show strikes by fighter jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the sea. One of the sites shown appeared to be in a mountain valley, where the Guard often keeps missile bases and other equipment.

Iran’s atomic energy agency said US strikes also hit the construction site of a planned nuclear power plant in the south-west, according to state television. Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC of the Darkhovin plant site showed land clearing but little construction as of July 9. The Atomic Energy Agency said the site was in the “very early stages of construction” and had no nuclear material when the UN watchdog last visited.

Jordan’s military said it shot down several Iranian missiles and that there were no casualties or damage. Jordan later summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in protest, state-run television reported. Israel’s military said missiles launched towards Jordan’s port city of Aqaba could spill over into Israeli territory, warning people to expect the first air-raid sirens in weeks. Eilat, the Israeli city next to Aqaba, said two interceptors were launched from its outskirts to prevent falling debris. “We are prepared to immediately resume combat,” Israeli military chief of staff Lt Gen Eyal Zamir said.

Kuwait said one of its power and water desalination plants was attacked for the second time in two days, causing fires, though its power grid remained stable. About 90 per cent of drinking water in Kuwait comes from desalination. Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, accused Iran of war crimes over strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities. humanitarian law generally protects civilian infrastructure such as bridges and power plants from attack, though such sites can lose that protection if they are used for military purposes.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to target Iran’s power stations and bridges to try to force Tehran to loosen its hold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of global oil supplies moved before the war. Recent attacks suggest the US military is acting on that plan. The US last week reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to stop crude oil shipments, and the military said on Saturday it had redirected five ships and disabled one since then. A maritime organisation overseen by the US Navy said on Sunday that the threat to mariners was severe, with deliberate hostile action “highly likely”. It said traffic remained low, with eight transits on Saturday and three on Friday, against a daily average of almost 140 before the war.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned on Saturday of “unforgettable lessons” if the US continued attacking the Islamic Republic. An Iranian negotiator said Tehran was suspending its commitments under the interim deal and accused the US of violating it. More than halfway through the 60-day period set by the deal for talks on a permanent end to the war and other issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme, the fighting has continued. Since the war began, 16 US service members have been killed and more than 430 wounded. Iranian authorities said on Sunday that at least 50 people were killed and 517 wounded in the latest US strikes. The war has also driven up fuel and other prices, hurting some of the world’s most vulnerable regions.

The latest US strikes, Iran’s missile fire towards Jordan and the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz together show how quickly the conflict has intensified again, even as the interim agreement meant to stop the war continues to unravel.

With PTI Inputs

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