A man displays a placard with portraits of the current and late supreme leaders and the late Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani at the Islamic Revolution Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 18, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption
Vahid Salemi/AP
The U.S. military has confirmed that three service members have been killed since Friday, following the escalation between the U.S. and Iran.
Two were killed in action when Iran launched missile and drone attacks in Jordan, according to U.S Central Command.
On Sunday, U.S. Central Command said the remains of an unidentified person had been found at the site of an attack in Jordan.
"After a thorough search, U.S. military personnel found unidentified remains at the location earlier today. An examination process to verify the remains is ongoing," CENTCOM said in a social media post.
It was unclear whether this person was a U.S. service member or not.
The military confirmed today that separately, a third U.S. service member died on Saturday. That death occurred in northern Iraq "during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance" from a downed Iranian drone. Another U.S. service member was injured and is being treated for a minor injury.
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The U.S. military said it had launched new airstrikes against Iran on Saturday evening, at the direction of President Trump, in retaliation for Friday's attack.
"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," the U.S. Central Command said in a statement posted on social media.
Four other American service members were medically evacuated after Iranian attacks in Jordan on Friday, according to the U.S. military.
The four American service members who were evacuated to Jordanian hospitals have since been discharged, Central Command said in a social media post earlier on Saturday.
"Out of respect for the families, CENTCOM will withhold additional information, including the identities of the fallen warriors, until 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified," it added in the statement.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a social media post on Saturday called the fallen service members "heroes."
"Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve," he wrote.
Iran's military said it struck the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a key installation used by Jordanian and U.S. coalition forces. On Sunday afternoon, sirens blared across Amman, Jordan's capital, warning of incoming missiles from Iran. Three were intercepted and a fourth fell in a remote area according to Jordan's military. There were no reports of casualties or damage.
Israel's military also issued a warning for its southern city of Eilat across the border from Aqaba. Officials in Kuwait on Sunday said Iran struck a power facility and a water desalination plant.
Sixteen U.S. service members have been killed and more than 430 wounded since the war with Iran began.
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The U.S. and Iran have widened the scope of targets in the latest strikes and the escalation has led to broader concerns that there could be an all-out war amid the fighting for control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has closed the strait and the U.S. military said it has reinstated a naval blockade of Iran.
U.S. forces ended its seven planned nights of strikes against Iran on Friday night, according to CENTCOM. Underground weapons storage and surveillance sites were among the Iranian assets that were struck, CENTCOM said.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamene on Saturday warned the U.S. that it would face "unforgettable lessons" if it continued its attacks. The comments, which were read on Iranian state TV and attributed to the leader, also included remarks that President Trump's signature on their memorandum of understanding was "worthless and invalid."
On Friday, authorities in Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar — a mediator in talks to end the war — said their air defense systems were intercepting hostile attacks. Jordan held off those attacks, according to its state media. Iranian strikes were also reported in Iraq's Kurdistan region, where at least eight opposition fighters were killed, according to a Kurdish Iranian opposition group.
NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi contributed reporting.
