US moves toward wider Iran war as American military death toll rises

US military deploying additional fighter squadrons to the Middle East after three soldiers killed in recent Iranian attacks.

By World Israel News Staff

The United States and Iran appeared to be moving closer to a broader war Monday as Washington launched another round of strikes against Iranian military targets and the Pentagon disclosed additional American casualties in Iraq and Jordan.

At least three US service members have been killed since large-scale fighting resumed eight days ago, while unidentified remains found at a military base in Jordan could raise that number to four, according to US Central Command.

Two American service members were killed Friday when an Iranian missile struck Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan. Central Command said Sunday that another set of remains had subsequently been discovered at the attack site but had not yet been identified.

In a separate incident, an American service member was killed Saturday in northern Iraq during a “controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance” recovered from a downed Iranian drone, CENTCOM said.

President Donald Trump said the United States had carried out another wave of retaliatory attacks against Iran following the deaths.

“We hit them very hard again tonight, and we did that in honor of the … great patriots” who were killed, Trump told reporters after returning to Joint Base Andrews from the World Cup final Sunday.

Central Command said the latest strikes were aimed at “Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”

The renewed fighting began after a US-Iranian memorandum of understanding collapsed and Iran attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran said the vessels had violated the agreement, which had temporarily halted months of fighting that began with American and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

Trump earlier described the first two American deaths as “a very sad thing.” Asked about Iran’s announcement that it would no longer abide by the memorandum, he told NewsNation that he “couldn’t care less.”

One US official familiar with discussions inside the administration said Washington was preparing for a possible expansion of the conflict and that the Pentagon was deploying additional military aircraft to the region.

“The US is planning for a wider war,” the official said, speaking anonymously because the official was not authorized to discuss internal deliberations.

However, the official warned that shortages of air-defense interceptors and long-range weapons, along with damage sustained by American bases and aircraft, could limit the military’s ability to sustain a significantly larger campaign.

“We do not have enough to safely sustain operations, and I don’t think the White House is aware of that,” the official said.

Military analysts have also questioned whether the United States is prepared for a ground operation in Iran, an option Trump declined to rule out last week.

“I think it would be a mistake to put ground forces anywhere in islands in the strait or onshore,” said Seth Jones, head of the defense and security department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “I don’t think US forces are prepared for standoff strikes from Iranians.”

Central Command said US strikes conducted overnight Saturday hit Iranian coastal-surveillance and air-defense installations, maritime forces, and missile and drone storage facilities. The military also targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps units accused of attacking American troops in Jordan.

Iranian authorities said the strikes included an attack on a nuclear power plant under construction in southwestern Iran.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the American campaign to degrade “Iran’s ability to terrorize the world” would continue “until the mission is done.”

The fighting has spread across the region. Kuwait said Iran attacked a power and water facility there for a second consecutive day, while Tehran said its drones had targeted US military positions in Kuwait.

Jordan reported intercepting three Iranian missiles aimed at the kingdom amid reports of attacks near the southern port city of Aqaba. The Jordanian government disputed a US Embassy report that Aqaba’s airport had been evacuated.

Iran also reported that two unidentified ships suffered an unspecified “accident” while attempting to pass through what Tehran called an “unsafe” route in the Strait of Hormuz. The statement appeared to refer to the US-protected shipping corridor running near Oman, which Iran has threatened to close.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington remained prepared to negotiate despite the escalating attacks.

The United States “always remains open to a diplomatic solution,” Rubio told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before traveling to the Philippines. However, he said, “it’s growing apparent that even within their own system, there’s a growing split.”

IranIran warUS military