The U.S. military launched a new round of strikes on Iran on Saturday night, aiming to “swiftly punish” the nation’s Revolutionary Guard Corps for an attack on a Jordanian base that killed two American service members.
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Big picture view:
This latest round of airstrikes by the U.S. continues a weeklong onslaught of daily assaults on Iranian targets. The strikes aim to weaken Tehran’s ability to threaten commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, in addition to being a response to the attack in Jordan, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) explained in a post about the operation.
USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) transits the Arabian Sea while an MH-60S Sea Hawk flies nearby. (U.S. Central Command)
The backstory:
Earlier in the day, CENTCOM announced the deaths of the two service members who were killed while defending the Jordanian base from ballistic missiles and drones. Four other service members were taken to the hospital following the attack and have since been released. Their names were not released pending notification of the families.
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They are the first service members to die in the Iran war since the opening days of the conflict. In all, 16 U.S. service members have died and over 430 have been injured, according to the military.
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Dig deeper:
An area near Sirik, along the Strait of Hormuz, was targeted around 1:30 a.m. local time, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency stated, citing local reports. In the same province, a location near Hajiabad was attacked and explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas, IRNA added. Local media reports also indicated multiple other strikes in the region.
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