US strikes Iran for ninth night as Strait of Hormuz tensions deepen

Dubai,UPDATED: Jul 20, 2026 05:46 IST

The US military said early Monday that it had begun a new round of airstrikes targeting Iran, extending the attacks into a ninth straight night. The latest strikes came as tensions between Washington and Tehran moved closer to all-out war after last month's interim deal to permanently end the fighting fell apart and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz largely stalled.

The escalation followed the US announcement on Sunday of another service member's death, as it launched more airstrikes in response to the killing of US troops, while Iran fired missiles towards Jordan, raising the risk of the conflict spreading further and affecting neighbouring Israel.

The US military's Central Command announced the fresh strikes, while activists in Iran reported explosions around 2.30 am local time. "The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz," Central Command said in a statement.

The US military said the service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday during the "controlled detonation" of a downed Iranian drone. Earlier, the military had said its strikes targeted Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in retaliation for Friday's killing of troops in Jordan. One service member was missing after that attack, and the military's latest statement said "unidentified remains" were found on Sunday and were being examined. Since the war began, 17 US service members have been killed.

The renewed exchanges of fire, now in their second week, have seen the US target bridges, water desalination plants and electrical facilities in Iran. Tehran, in turn, has hit US-allied countries across the Middle East. Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain again activated air defences for incoming Iranian drones and missiles, while Israel warned that missiles launched towards Jordan could cause fire to spill into Israeli territory for the first time in weeks.

With fresh US airstrikes, another American military death, and Iranian missile launches towards Jordan, the conflict has continued to widen, with both sides attacking infrastructure and military targets as the situation around the Strait of Hormuz remains tense.

With PTI Inputs

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