Two American service members were killed in an Iranian attack on a military base in Jordan on Friday, the U.S. military announced on Saturday. A third soldier went missing during the assault, marking the first American deaths from direct Iranian fire since fighting began.
The troops died as U.S. and allied forces repelled barrages of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, according to a military statement. Four other service members were airlifted to hospitals in Jordan but were later discharged.
The military did not release the names of the dead soldiers. Since the war started, 16 American service members have been killed and over 430 wounded in total.
Minutes before the announcement, Iran's supreme leader issued a stark warning. Mojtaba Khamenei, speaking through state television and yet to appear publicly since the war began, threatened "unforgettable lessons" if the United States continues striking Iran.
He also branded President Donald Trump's signature "worthless and invalid." The comments arrived hours after a Tehran negotiator said Iran was abandoning its commitments to a ceasefire agreement signed roughly a month earlier.
The accord had aimed to permanently halt the conflict, but that prospect now looks distant. Khamenei vowed that consequences would come not just from Iran itself but from what he called the "Axis of Resistance" — the armed groups aligned with Tehran across the region.
The U.S. and Iran have been trading strikes targeting each other's military assets and infrastructure for weeks. Fighting has increasingly centred on control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil once flowed.
These escalating attacks endanger civilians and essential services like desalination plants that provide drinking water. Global markets remain on edge as tensions show little sign of easing.
