IRGC claims Jordanians helped target US forces

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed two oil tankers "exploded and were brought to a halt" late Sunday after attempting to transit the southern Strait of Hormuz under what it described as US pressure.

In a statement carried by Iran's official news agencies, the IRGC said the strategic waterway would remain unsafe "for the passage of chemical fertilizer or even a single drop of oil and gas" as long as US military operations in the region continue.

The force also warned the US military to prepare for "punitive action" over what it called its "illegal violation" of Iranian territory.

US President Donald Trump said the United States had struck Iran “very hard again tonight” in honour of American service members killed in the conflict.

Speaking to reporters after returning to Washington from the World Cup final, Trump said the death toll was “probably three” and described those killed as “great patriots.”

“We feel very badly,” he said, adding that they had been fighting to ensure that “Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Iranian media have reported explosions in several cities, including Chabahar, Konarak and Mahshahr along Iran’s southern coast, as well as Tabriz in the northwest.

The reports came shortly after US Central Command announced a new wave of strikes on Iran for the ninth consecutive night.

If confirmed as a US strike, an attack on Tabriz would mark the first reported instance in the latest campaign beyond Iran’s Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman regions.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that Israel would respond forcefully to any Iranian attack, after Israeli and Jordanian forces intercepted an Iranian missile launched toward the Jordanian city of Aqaba.

“If Iran fires missiles at Israel, we will attack them with full force,” Katz said during a visit to a rescue service facility.

“If the United States changes its policy, which is also something that could happen, we are prepared for both defensive and offensive,” he added.

A US service member was killed in northern Iraq on Saturday during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone, US Central Command said.

A second service member was wounded and was receiving treatment for a minor injury, CENTCOM said.

CENTCOM also said that US personnel had found unidentified remains in Jordan after an Iranian attack on July 17 that killed two US service members and left one missing. An examination to verify the remains was ongoing, CENTCOM added.