US punishes Iran for deaths, region under further attack

Source: US Central Command
The US has waged an eighth straight night of strikes on Iran, while regional allies have come under further attack from Iran.
The latest wave followed a US announcement that two of its military personnel had been killed in Jordan.
On Monday, the US military confirmed another service member was killed in action during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone.
US Central Command said the latest strikes were to swiftly punish for the attacks against service members, and to âfurther degrade Iranâs ability to threaten commercial shippingâ.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities warned Iran that missiles launched toward Jordan could cause fire to spill over into Israeli territory for the first time in weeks.
The Israeli military said it had detected missiles fired from Iran toward the Jordanian port city of Aqaba, which lies just over Israelâs southern border.
It warned Israelis to expect the first air-raid sirens in weeks.
The US and Iran have intensified âattacks as an interim ceasefire deal signed a month ago has unravelled and a struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz has deepened, raising the risk of a return to all-out hostilities.
Israeli officials said Israel was preparing to receive âmore US refuelling aircraft after the recent escalation, and ahead of a possible expansion of US military operations against Iran.
Central Command later said it had completed its wave of attacks, hitting Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defence facilities.
The conflict, which began when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 hoping to disable its nuclear and missile programs and degrade its regional proxies, has led to major âdisruption to energy supplies and âfears over global inflation.
Regional attacks
Iranian reports said the US carried out an attack near Sirik in southern Iran, and near Shadegan, close to âthe border with Iraq.
Iranâs Atomic Energy Organisation condemned a US attack on the site of a nuclear power plant under construction in Darkhovin, Iranâs Mehr news agency reported.
The IAEA said it was investigating reports of an overnight attack, noting that the plant was in the very early stages of construction.
In response to the latest strikes, Iran carried out a drone attack that targeted US military sites and equipment at Kuwaitâs al-Adiri camp and Ali al-Salem Air Base, Iranian state TV reported on Sunday.
Both bases have been targeted as part of Iranâs attacks against US bases and allies in the Gulf since last week.
Kuwaitâs electricity ministry said a desalination plant had been attacked â for the second day running, causing a fire.
Kuwaitâs armed forces said earlier they had again intercepted Iranian missiles, after a âsustained Iranian attack on Saturday.
Bahrainâs âair defences also intercepted an Iranian attack on Sunday, its state TV reported.
Sirens sounded in Jordan, where the military said it had shot down three Iranian missiles.
In recent days both sides have taken aim at shipping traffic, with the US saying it is enforcing a naval blockade on Iran and Iran saying it targets âvessels violating its rules on navigating the Strait of Hormuz, which usually handles one-fifth of global oil supply.
Iranâs Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday four vessels had tried to transit the strait via an âunsafe routeâ with US backing after ignoring IRGC warnings.
It said two had abandoned the attempt while the others were involved in an âaccidentâ. It did not elaborate.
Central Command said âtwo of its service personnel died on Friday, and a third âUS service member was missing in action.
The announcement brought the number of US service members killed since the âwar began to 16. More than 420 have been wounded.
Iranâs health ministry said on Saturday that 50 people had been killed and more than 500 wounded in US strikes in the past three weeks alone.
Overall, thousands have been killed and several million internally displaced in the conflict, mainly in Iran and in Lebanon, where a war between Israel and Iran-aligned militant group Hezbollah was reignited.
âwith AAP








