President Donald Trump said the latest US strikes hit Iran “very hard”, adding that the attacks were “in honor” of the three US soldiers killed in recent days – two in Jordan and one in Iraq.
In the early hours of Monday local time, the US Central Command (Centcom) announced it had launched a “new wave” of strikes for the ninth consecutive night as explosions were heard across Iran.
The United States said it had targeted military sites and communications networks to “further diminish” Tehran’s attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran said it responded with a “surprise attack” in Syria and targeted U.S. planes at Jordan’s Aqaba airport.
Elsewhere in the region, Kuwaiti armed forces said they had intercepted Iranian drones.
Regarding the US strikes, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that several cities were hit, including Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini.
Iranian state media also reported that two oil tankers exploded while trying to cross the strait.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the tankers were taking what it called an “unsafe and dangerous southern route” of the strait and “exploded and were arrested.” Centcom disputed these claims.
The IRGC added that the strait “will not be safe for the transit of petrochemicals, or even a single drop of oil and gas” as long as US strikes continue and it responds with a “punitive operation.”
Over the weekend, the United States confirmed that a a soldier was killed after an Iranian attack in northern Iraq on Saturday.
This news came after the United States declared a attack on a base in Jordan on Friday, two soldiers were killed there. The two men have now been identified by the Pentagon as Pte Isabella Gonzales, 19, and Lt Tyler James Feehan, 25.
A third service member was reported missing after the attack in Jordan, and U.S. officials say “unidentified remains” were found during the search process.
As strikes continued this weekend between the United States and Iran, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States “still remains open to a diplomatic solution.”
He also said that “the world must decide whether or not it will allow an international waterway to be under the control” of Iran, saying Tehran was using the crucial sea route as leverage.
His comments came as a preliminary deal reached in mid-June to end the fighting collapsed, with negotiations for a permanent peace making little progress after Trump declared the deal “finished” on July 8.
