This screen grab made July 18 from handout video footage released by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) July 17 shows what the U.S. military says is the latest wave of precision strikes on strategic Iranian military sites. AFP-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said Sunday that it launched new airstrikes against Iran to “swiftly punish” the country’s Revolutionary Guard for an attack in Jordan that killed two American service members, left one missing and four requiring hospitalization.
The strikes were designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to restrict the traffic of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said. The waterway accounted for roughly 20% of global oil supplies before the war.
An area near Sirik, on the Strait of Hormuz, was targeted around 1:30 a.m. local time, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, which cited local authorities in southern Hormozgan province.
The new strikes came after the U.S. military announced its first troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war, following a drone and missile attack on a base in Jordan on Friday. The dead were not identified, and Central Command wouldn’t offer any further details on the deaths.
