By David Ljunggren, Enas Alashray and Hatem MaherSunday July 19, 2026
Smoke rises near an oil facility in Mangaf, Kuwait, on July 18, 2026, in an image taken from a social media video. Social Media/via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights
Two U.S. military personnel were killed in Jordan and a third was missing after an Iranian attack, the U.S. military said on Saturday, as Iran’s supreme leader warned that Washington would face consequences for what he called its push to widen the conflict following a seventh consecutive night of U.S. strikes.
Fighting between the United States and Iran has sharply escalated since an interim ceasefire agreement signed a month ago collapsed last week, reviving fears that the conflict could again spiral into full-scale war.
U.S. Central Command said the two service members died on Friday and that another remained missing in action. Their deaths raised the number of U.S. personnel killed since the war began to 16, with more than 420 injured. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X: “Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.”
Iran appeared to have expanded its targets on Saturday to include Saudi Arabia, other U.S. allies in the Gulf and Jordan, following U.S. attacks on Iranian bridges, electricity facilities and other infrastructure.
In a written statement published by the official social media accounts of Iran’s supreme leader and by Iranian state media, Mojtaba Khamenei said repeated U.S. violations of the interim agreement had proved President Donald Trump’s signature was “utterly worthless and devoid of credibility.”
“Now that the American enemy is seeking to escalate the conflict thereby incurring even heavier costs and further humiliation, it should know that the noble nation of Iran and the Resistance Front have unforgettable lessons in store for it,” the statement said. Khamenei’s whereabouts remain unknown.
The war began when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran at the end of February, seeking to disable its missile programme and regional proxies. It has since disrupted energy supplies, fuelled concerns about global inflation and sparked a contest for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
IRANIAN STRIKES REPORTED IN BAHRAIN, JORDAN, SAUDI ARABIA
Kuwait faced sustained attacks on Saturday, with its armed forces reporting that they intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles and drones. Firefighters and oil sector workers were injured while responding to the strikes, authorities said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it struck a U.S. military support centre at Kuwait’s Camp Arifjan and destroyed a radar facility at Ali Al Salem Air Base. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation later said “repeated Iranian attacks” had hit one of its oil facilities, causing significant damage and injuries, the state news agency reported.
Iranian media said the IRGC also struck a Bahrain site where U.S. combat aircraft had assembled at Sheikh Isa Air Base, as well as an intelligence data centre.
During an early Saturday missile and drone assault on the U.S. base in Al Azraq, Jordan, the Guards destroyed at least two U.S. fighter aircraft and three other planes, Iranian state television said.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Saudi Arabia’s early warning system sent alerts before dawn on Saturday, telling residents in Al-Kharj and Yanbu to take shelter. Al-Kharj, east of Riyadh, hosts a military base with U.S. troops, while Yanbu on the Red Sea is home to a major oil export terminal.
Two people briefed on the matter said the warnings were prompted by an Iranian missile attack, the first targeting Saudi Arabia in more than three months. Saudi state media did not explain the alerts, and the government media office did not respond to a request for comment.The IRGC did not mention any attack on Saudi Arabia.
BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF THE STRAIT
Earlier, U.S. Central Command said it had struck Iranian surveillance locations, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons stores and maritime assets.
Iranian state television said U.S. airstrikes early on Saturday killed three people and injured eight in the southern province of Hormozgan, which borders the Strait of Hormuz. Two bridges and a road tunnel were also damaged.
The semi-official Fars news agency, citing provincial authorities, said the United States launched further airstrikes in the province later on Saturday afternoon, though no civilian casualties were reported.
Iran’s Health Ministry said Saturday that U.S. strikes across the country had killed 50 people and wounded more than 500 over the previous three weeks.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei accused the United States of trying to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Both countries have targeted shipping, with Washington saying it is imposing a naval blockade and Tehran saying it is acting against vessels that breach its navigation rules for the strait.
The European Union and Gulf states urged Iran to stop all attacks and interference with maritime navigation immediately and without conditions, and called for the strait to remain open without fees or restrictions, according to a joint statement carried by Saudi state television on Saturday.
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said a merchant vessel and military forces were involved in an incident off Oman, offering no additional details.
Oil prices climbed more than 4% on Friday, reaching their highest level in over a month and increasing political pressure on Trump as his Republican Party seeks to retain power in November congressional elections.
Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Stephen Coates, Gareth Jones, Aidan Lewis and Michael Martina; Editing by Sam Holmes, Alison Williams, Ros Russell, Rod Nickel
