The confrontation between Iran and the United States has escalated, with the Islamic Republic killing multiple American soldiers within the span of a few days.
An attempt by the U.S. to undermine Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz by opening an alternative shipping route first sparked the confrontation on July 7. The Islamic Republic began attacking ships following the American-designated route, and the two sides began exchanging strikes.
On July 18, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported casualties for the first time, stating that two American service members were killed, one was missing in action, and four were wounded as a result of an Iranian strike on an air base in Jordan the day before.
The death of another American soldier was announced the very next day by CENTCOM. The command said the soldier was killed and another was injured in northern Iraq while disposing of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian attack drone.
Also on July 19, CENTCOM said the body of the soldier missing since the strike on Jordan had been found, raising the number of American service members killed in just two days to four. Additional reports from American media indicated that around a hundred troops had been wounded since the start of the confrontation with Iran.
President Donald Trump vowed on July 20 that the U.S. would kill “many times” the number of Iranians for every American soldier killed.
Iran was not fazed by the threat, however. That same day, it struck two tankers attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz via the American route. The vessels belonged to the Greek shipping company Dynacom Tankers and were both severely damaged, with one abandoned by its crew.
Two more vessels were struck by the Islamic Republic the following day, one of them a very large crude carrier owned by Kuwait.
In response, Trump threatened on July 22 to bomb Iranian bridges and power plants if the Islamic Republic continued striking ships in the strait. Iran’s armed forces said they would respond in kind by targeting energy infrastructure across the region.
Later that day, Hebrew-language media reported that the U.S. had informed Israel of plans to escalate its strikes on Iran in the coming days, including the use of heavy bombers. The bombers are expected to target Pickaxe Mountain, suspected to house Iran’s deepest underground nuclear facility.
All recent developments suggest escalation will continue. A return to full-scale war seems increasingly likely, particularly since the memorandum of understanding signed last month by the U.S. and Iran has already collapsed. The Islamic Republic is all but guaranteed to respond harshly if Trump follows through on his threats, and Israel could soon join the fight.
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