Dubai, Jul 20: The United States began a new round of airstrikes early Monday targeting Iran after announcing the death of another American service member, and Iran fired missiles toward Jordan that risked widening the conflict into neighboring Israel.
Step by step, the US and Iran have inched closer to all-out war as last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.
The U.S. military said the service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone.
US launches ninth night of Iran strikes
Earlier, the military said its strikes targeted Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for Friday’s killing of troops in Jordan. One service member was missing after that attack, and the military’s new statement said “unidentified remains” were found Sunday and were being examined. Since the war began, 17 U.S. service members have been killed.
The renewed exchanges of fire, now in their second week, have seen the U.S. target bridges and electrical facilities in Iran.
The US military’s Central Command announced a new round of strikes early Monday, now into their ninth straight night.
“The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” Central Command said in a statement.
As the strikes began, a ship caught fire early Monday in the Strait of Hormuz near the coastline of Oman, the British military said. It was unclear what sparked the blaze off Oman, which has been a route the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control.
Tehran has retaliated by hitting US-allied countries throughout the Middle East.
Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait again activated air defenses for incoming Iranian drones and missiles. Early Monday, the US Embassy in Bahrain issued a warning saying “Iran may seek to target unspecified locations in central Manama,” the capital, without elaborating.
Israel warned that missiles launched toward neighboring Jordan could cause fire to spill over into Israeli territory for the first time in weeks.
Iran says a nuclear site under construction was hit
Footage released Sunday by the US military appeared to show strikes carried out by fighter jets and by Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the sea. One target site appeared to be in a valley of a mountainous region. The Guard often has missile bases and other military equipment tucked into mountain ranges.
Iran’s atomic energy agency said US strikes targeted the construction site of a planned nuclear power plant in the southwest, state television reported.
Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC of the Darkhovin nuclear plant site showed earth clearing but little construction as of July 9. Iran did not previously announce it as being targeted.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the site, in the “very early stages of construction,” contained no nuclear material when the U.N. watchdog last visited.
Jordan and nearly every Gulf Arab state have been targeted
Jordan’s military said it shot down several Iranian missiles. The country hosts major U.S. bases and relies on U.S. air-defense systems. The missiles did not cause casualties or damage, according to Jordan’s military.
Jordan later summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires to protest, state-run television reported.
Israel’s military said Iranian missiles launched toward the Jordanian port city of Aqaba just across the border could spill over, warning Israelis to expect the first air-raid sirens in weeks.
Eilat, the Israeli city that neighbors Aqaba, cited security officials as saying two interceptors were launched from its outskirts to prevent the fall of debris.
During the latest fighting, Iran has focused attacks on U.S.-allied Arab states rather than Israel, which launched the war with the US on Feb. 28. “We are prepared to immediately resume combat,” the 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. Its Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said the power grid remains stable. In Kuwait, about 90 per cent of drinking water comes from desalination. (PTI)
