World·NewThe U.S. military launched airstrikes Sunday targeting Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for the killing of American troops in Jordan, further widening the crossfire between the nations as they fight over the Strait of Hormuz.American campaign in its 8th day as nations vie over control of Strait of HormuzThe Associated Press · Posted: Jul 19, 2026 8:24 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.Demonstrators wave Iranian and religious flags, including one depicting the late Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, during a pro-government gathering in Tehran on Friday, the seventh straight day of U.S. attacks. (Vahid Salemi/The Associated Press)The U.S. military launched airstrikes Sunday targeting Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for the killing of American troops in Jordan, further widening the crossfire between the nations as they fight over the Strait of Hormuz.The strikes are part of a weeklong campaign that has seen Iran strike U.S.-allied countries across the Middle East after an interim deal seeking to find an end to the Iran war collapsed. The U.S. has targeted bridges, electrical facilities and other targets in Iran, and Tehran has retaliated by hitting power and desalination plants in Kuwait, threatening daily life in that small, oil-rich desert nation. Iran also has stepped up its threats to further expand the strikes, drawing a warning overnight from the United Arab Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Kuwait again activated air defences Sunday morning as its military warned of incoming Iranian drone and missiles.The U.S. military's Central Command, in its statement, also said it hit "Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defence facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites." It also said for the first time it specifically targeted the Guard, a key power base in Iran's theocracy that controls its ballistic missile arsenal. Footage released by the U.S. military appeared to show strikes carried out by fighter jets and by Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from 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 has provided no overall information on its materiel losses in the American campaign, which now is in its eighth day as the nations vie over control of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passes in peacetime.Iran supreme leader threatens to teach U.S. 'unforgettable lessons' if attacks continueU.S. strikes in retaliationAn Iranian attack on a base in Jordan killed two American service members, left one missing and four requiring hospitalization, the U.S. military said. ‌The international airport and seaport ​in Aqaba in ​southern Jordan were evacuated because of ​a "specific and credible ⁠threat," ⁠said the U.S. Embassy on X, strongly advising Americans against travelling to either locations.However, according to the country's state news agency, Jordanian authorities have not issued any decision ‌Sunday to evacuate the airport ​or seaport, ​nor have they detected any ​potential threats in ⁠the past ⁠hours.Since the war began, 16 U.S. service members have been killed and over 430 have been wounded.Iranian authorities said Saturday that at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in the latest U.S. strikes. WATCH | Two dead, one missing:2 U.S. service members killed, 1 missing after Iranian strikes in JordanJuly 18|Duration 3:26United States Central Command announced Saturday that two service members have been killed and one is missing following Iranian strikes on a U.S. base in Jordan. These strikes follow a week of attacks by the U.S. on Iranian infrastructure sites.Nearly every Gulf Arab state has been targeted by Iran for retaliatory strikes, with a missile alert sounding Saturday in Saudi Arabia. However, the United Arab Emirates has yet to be targeted. The semiofficial Iranian news agency Fars, believed to be close to the Guard, issued a threat Saturday to the UAE. Quoting an anonymous official, Fars said continued strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure would mean that the "airports of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as the ports of Fujairah and Jebel Ali, must be immediately evacuated."U.A.E wades inApparently responding to the threat, the Emirates' Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling "for exercising the utmost restraint in order to avoid dangerous repercussions, and the region being pulled into new levels of violence and instability.""The U.A.E. emphasized that the targeting of civilian infrastructure and civilian facilities in the region ... constitute a flagrant and grave violation of the established principles and provisions of international law, and cannot, under any circumstances, be accepted or justified." During the Iran war, officials say, both the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia carried out retaliatory airstrikes for Tehran targeting their nations. The secretary general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, accused Iran of war crimes for strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.WATCH | Iran vowing revenge:Iran’s supreme leader vows revenge against Trump in fiery messageJuly 11|Duration 3:35Iranian state media carried a message from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, promising revenge against U.S. President Donald Trump after the death of his father.Trump has threatened to target Iran's power stations and bridges to try to compel Tehran to loosen its hold on the Strait of Hormuz. Recent attacks suggest the U.S. military is carrying out that plan, beginning first with coastal areas of Iran on the strait. The U.S. in the past week also reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to halt its shipments of crude oil, and the military on Saturday said it had redirected five ships and disabled one since then. Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in a statement Saturday, warned of "unforgettable lessons" if the U.S. keeps attacking the Islamic Republic. An Iranian negotiator said Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal signed about a month ago and aimed at permanently ending the fighting. Iran's joint military command said that U.S. "covetousness, bullying, totalitarianism or brutality" would meet with a "devastating response."With files from Reuters