At least two U.S. service members were killed in action while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in Jordan, marking the first American deaths in the aftermath of a tenuous ceasefire agreement earlier this year, according to U.S. Central Command.
Another service member is missing after Friday’s attacks, according to the Department of Defense.
Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals and have since been discharged, Central Command announced Saturday.
At least 15 U.S. service members have now died during the months-long war with Iran, including six people who were killed when two refueling jets collided above Iraq. An Iranian drone strike that hit a command post in Kuwait killed another six service members.
A Navy pilot died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea earlier this month.
More than 400 U.S. troops have been wounded throughout the campaign.
“Godspeed, heroes,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote in a statement on X.
“Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve,” he added.
President Donald Trump, who was golfing at his Bedminster, New Jersey club on Saturday as Central Command announced the deaths of service members, later told News Nation that the news of their death is a “very sad, it’s a very sad thing.”
“We hate to see it happen. It’s in service to our country,” he told the network.
American forces launched a seventh consecutive night of attacks on Iranian assets on Friday as Iran ramps up missile and drone attacks on U.S. allies and assets in the Persian Gulf.
A tenuous ceasefire has effectively collapsed as Donald Trump’s administration continues a series of strikes after accusing Iran of attacking merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has fired back with strikes against Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria and Jordan, warning of a “full-scale offensive” should U.S. attacks continue.
A statement issued on behalf of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday said Trump’s signature on a memorandum of understanding was “worthless and invalid” and accused the U.S. of repeatedly breaching the commitments of the temporary peace deal.
He warned “unforgettable lessons” should U.S. strikes continue.
Central Command said U.S. military assets struck “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities” during a seventh night of attacks on Friday.
“U.S. forces employed fighter aircraft, aerial drones, and warships in addition to other assets,” according to the announcement.
Iranian state media reported that U.S. strikes impacted critical infrastructure, including bridges and a water desalination plant. Roughly 10,000 people could be left without water, according to local utility officials speaking to state media.
U.S strikes have killed at least 50 people and injured more than 500 since late June, according to Iran’s health ministry.
The pace of attacks in Gulf nations has raised fears of escalating violence across the region. Officials in Kuwait on Saturday reported attacks on power and desalination plants in the country, while Bahrain’s Defense Force announced it had intercepted a number of “treacherous Iranian drones and missiles.”
Jordan’s Armed Forces intercepted four drones in its airspace, according to the country’s official news agency.
The names of the two American service members killed in Friday’s strikes are not expected to be released until at least 24 hours after their families have been notified, per Pentagon policy.
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