Three U.S. Service Members Killed July 17–18 in Iran-Related Attacks in Jordan and Iraq

Three U.S. service members were killed in two separate Iran-related incidents in Jordan and Iraq on July 17 and 18, U.S. Central Command said, as American forces launched a fresh round of strikes on Iranian military targets.

CENTCOM said two U.S. service members were killed in an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on a base in Jordan on July 17. CBS News, confirming earlier Wall Street Journal reporting, identified the base as Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, citing U.S. officials. CENTCOM initially reported one U.S. service member missing in action after the strike, and later said search teams recovered unidentified remains at the site, with identification still underway. Four additional U.S. service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals after the attack and were later discharged, according to CENTCOM as reported by CBS.

In a separate incident, CENTCOM said a U.S. service member was killed in northern Iraq on July 18 during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone, meaning an aircraft designed to crash into its target. A second service member suffered a minor injury and was being treated. The Iraq death was not part of the Jordan strike but came a day later in a different operation.

After the Jordan attack, U.S. forces began a new wave of airstrikes late July 18 that continued into July 19, targeting what CENTCOM described as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces and infrastructure at the commander in chief’s direction. According to CENTCOM statements cited by CBS News and The Associated Press, the strikes hit Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites. “The strikes are designed to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night,” CENTCOM said, according to CBS. The U.S. military has said protecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial artery for global oil and commercial maritime traffic, is part of the mission.

The Jordan attack marked the first U.S. combat deaths in this conflict since March, according to reporting on the escalation. With the deaths in Jordan and Iraq, the cumulative number of U.S. service members killed in the broader U.S.-Iran conflict reached 17 as of July 19, according to U.S. military officials cited by AP. CENTCOM said it was withholding the identities of the dead out of respect for their families until 24 hours after next-of-kin notifications were complete.

Iranian official casualty figures from the recent U.S. strikes differed sharply. AP reported that Iran’s Health Ministry said the strikes killed at least 50 people and wounded 517, figures that have not been independently verified. Iranian state media, as reported by AP, quoted Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warning of “unforgettable lessons” if the United States continued its attacks, underscoring the risk of a wider escalation.