Earlier in the weekend, the US military said two of its service personnel died in Jordan and that a third was missing in action. On Sunday, Central Command said in a statement that \u201cunidentified remains\u201d had been found at the site of Friday\u2019s attack and that \u201can examination process to verify the remains is ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The casualty announcements brought the total number of US military personnel killed since the war began to 17, with more than 420 others wounded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hit them very hard again tonight, and we did that in honor of the, probably three, it\u2019s probably three great patriots,\u201d Trump told reporters amid the latest strikes as he returned to Washington following the World Cup final.<\/p>\n
Trump said \u201cwe feel very badly,\u201d when asked about the military fatalities, adding that those who died were fighting so that \u201cIran cannot have a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, meanwhile, claimed early Monday that it had hit and disabled two oil tankers trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \u201cLate last night, two non-compliant oil tankers\u2026 attempted to enter and exit through what was described as the unsafe and hazardous southern route of the Strait of Hormuz, exploded and were brought to a halt,\u201d the Guards says in a statement, according to the Tasnim news agency.<\/p>\n The statement gave no details on the vessels\u2019 names, flags, crews or any casualties.<\/p>\n The Guards said the waterway would remain unsafe as long as what it called US \u201caggression\u201d in the region continued, warning that \u201cthis passage will not be safe for the transit of petrochemical products, nor even a single drop of oil and gas.\u201d<\/p>\n Four vessels made the transit through Hormuz on Sunday, down from eight the previous day, LSEG data showed. At least three oil products tankers and one Very Large Crude Carrier have entered the strait since Friday to load oil, according to the data.<\/p>\n \t The IRGC also announced an overnight surprise attack on \u201cthe enemy\u2019s special operations headquarters in Syria\u2019s Al-Tanf area,\u201d as well as against Bahrain and Kuwait, the latter of which said it was \u201cengaging hostile drone attacks following Iranian aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n The Guards said that in Kuwait, a US early-warning radar system was \u201ccompletely destroyed,\u201d and that Iranian forces \u201cstruck an equipment and aircraft parts warehouse and an MQ-9 drone hangar at Ali Al Salem Air Base, setting several drones on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n Additionally, the IRGC said it targeted US military aircraft stationed at Aqaba Airport in southern Jordan.<\/p>\n American heavy transport aircraft and command and control aircraft \u201cwere targeted with ballistic missiles, causing severe damage to a number of them,\u201d the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iran\u2019s state broadcaster.<\/p>\n Iran had also targeted Aqaba the day before in an attack that risked widening the conflict into Israel, which launched interceptors<\/a> to down fragments from Iranian missiles.<\/p>\n Israel readying \u2018immediate and strategic operational options\u2019<\/p>\n During the recent exchanges of fire, now in their second week, Iran has focused attacks on US-allied Arab states rather than Israel, which launched the war with the United States on February 28.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are prepared to immediately resume combat,\u201d said IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir.<\/p>\n \t Step by step, the US and Iran have returned closer to all-out war as last month\u2019s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled.<\/p>\n A senior Israeli official told Channel 12 news on Sunday that Israel was preparing for the possibility of joining an expanded US military campaign against Iran, after the security establishment assessed at high-level government discussions that the likelihood of a significant escalation in the near future had greatly risen.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in continuous dialogue with the Americans, but one thing is a fact: Trump is unpredictable,\u201d the official told the network. \u201cAt the moment, it appears that [the US seeks] to step up the intensity of American strikes in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the official noted that senior Trump envoys, primarily Steve Witkoff, as well as mediator Qatar, were continuing to try to bring the sides back to negotiations.<\/p>\n In light of that, Israel was \u201cpreparing for every possibility and building immediate and strategic operational options,\u201d the official added, saying, \u201cIf the Americans decide to escalate or involve Israel, or if the Iranians carry out an unexpected and unwise move against us, we will be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n The Haaretz daily also reported that Middle East diplomats were preparing for a possible escalation, with a regional source joking to the newspaper on Saturday: \u201cTomorrow is the World Cup final; the day after tomorrow is the Middle East final.\u201d<\/p>\n \t According to Haaretz, Iran is concerned that American strikes are a preparation for a ground operation to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz \u2014 though a Western source that spoke to the newspaper was skeptical that this would happen.<\/p>\n The report said mediators are still trying to de-escalate, with US Vice President JD Vance sending a message to Tehran via Pakistan that failed to quell the exchanges of fire.<\/p>\n Diplomats told Haaretz that Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, fresh off a trip to Washington, is expected to deliver another message to Iran from the US, with a visit expected on July 23.<\/p>\n Diplomatic sources also assessed to the Hebrew daily that the United Arab Emirates, which was targeted more than any other country in the early weeks of the war, has now reached understandings with Iran, though it\u2019s largely stopped its mediation efforts, and that Bahrain is now the Arab state taking the most hardline position against the Islamic Republic.<\/p>\n \u2018Other countries need to step up\u2019<\/p>\n Concerns about the flow of energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz have persisted since a fragile truce between Iran and the United States broke down over a week ago following attacks by Iran on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the critical international waterway through which a fifth of the global oil and gas supply transited prior to the war.<\/p>\n The Royal Navy\u2019s United Kingdom Maritime Operations Centre said late Sunday that it received a report that a vessel was on fire not far from the Omani coast, although it had not verified a cause.<\/p>\n Oil prices jumped 3% on Monday, with Brent crude futures surpassing $90 a barrel, the highest level since June 11.<\/p>\n UKMTO WARNING 092-26<\/p>\n Click here to view the full product.\u2935\ufe0fhttps:\/\/t.co\/JZo2iz2Fau<\/a>#MaritimeSecurity<\/a> #MarSec<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/udoONPF2ce<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26201027012979-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUS President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he exits Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, after attending the World Cup final soccer match, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AFP__20260712__B9Y76G4__v1__HighRes__UaeIranUsIsraelWar-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tThis frame grab taken from AFPTV video footage on July 12, 2026, shows a cargo ship anchoring near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan. (AFPTV\/AFP)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1d885ce8-d5e4-42fd-9dff-9eb5cb38d211-e1784477343610-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tIDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir (center) is seen with his office manager, Lt. Col. Tomer Sayag (left) and Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth at the Judea and Samaria Division headquarters near Beit El in the West Bank, July 19, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26200681217399-e1784504968940-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tVehicles drive past a monument depicting the clenched fist of the late Iranian supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the US-Israel war with Iran, in Islamic Revolution Square in Tehran, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n