The war in the Middle East has flared up since the United States carried out new air strikes on Iran after the shootdown of two American soldiers and four other people in Jordan.
The attacks hit sites associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and were meant to inflict damage on Tehran to deter future attacks and reduce its power to choke off shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which previously carried a good percentage of the world’s oil supplies.
No names have been released for the American soldiers who were killed in Jordan.
The current sparring has confirmed the deteriorating ties between Washington and Tehran. Iran is also said to have halted obligations under the interim deal with the United States, further ruining the chances of easing the animosity.
In the overnight attacks, several sites in Hormozgan province – such as in the vicinity of Sirik, Hajiabad, Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island – were attacked by the attackers, Iranian state media said.
At the same time, violence also erupted in neighbouring Iraq, where a Kurdistan Freedom Party base in Erbil, near the border, was hit by a drone strike that injured eight KFP members. People also said they could hear bombs exploding as they were deterred by the air defence missile systems.
The attacks are the latest of a series of incidents in Iraq, which to date have been attributed to no group, although US troops are based in the Kurdish region and Iranian Kurdish opposition groups operate there.
At least 16 U.S. service members have died, and over 430 have been wounded since the war started, highlighting the escalating nature of the situation in the region.
President Donald Trump reacted to the death of the US soldiers, as he called it a “very sad thing.” He didn’t like to see it happen but it did for their service to the country. Trump also reiterated Iran from using nuclear weapons.