Late Saturday, at 6 p.m. ET, President Donald Trump ordered new airstrikes against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The strikes targeted coastal observation posts and anti-air systems, along with naval assets and locations where missiles and drones were kept. According to Central Command, the objective was to reduce Iran's capacity to endanger merchant vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz and to retaliate against the IRGC units behind the Jordan incident.
This was not the first round of strikes. Saturday marked the eighth consecutive night that U.S. Central Command has carried out attacks against Iranian targets.
The hostilities started on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Previously, 14 other service members had been killed in action since that date, according to MS Now. The two new fatalities in Jordan add to that total.
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This sustained campaign reflects deepening confrontation between Washington and Tehran, escalating from the February 28 strikes initiated by the U.S. and Israel. The repeated attacks have targeted key Iranian military infrastructure, aiming to cripple their ability to project power in the region, particularly over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil shipments.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called the fallen troops heroes, saying "their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve." Speaking to a NewsNation reporter by phone, President Trump described the fatalities as "very sad, it's a very sad thing." He also said in a primetime address that "we are likewise winning big in Iran, and you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly."
All of this is happening just weeks after the U.S. and Iran signed an interim peace agreement in June, called the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. That deal is now in tatters.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, warned that the country has "unforgettable lessons in store" for the U.S. When a NewsNation reporter inquired about Iran's suspension of the interim peace agreement, President Trump replied, "I couldn't care less."
On Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Amman issued a security warning claiming that Jordanian officials had evacuated the Aqaba airport and seaport after receiving a specific and credible threat. However, Jordan denied issuing any evacuation order. Government spokesperson Mohammad Al-Momani said in a written statement that "no potential threats have been recorded by the relevant Jordanian authorities in the past few hours" and that "the airport and port are operating normally."
The weekend's events put additional strain on last month's already fragile truce, which could reignite worries about oil transport via the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. president had warned that if Iran did not come back to negotiations, he would target its bridges and power plants within the following week.
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