Two American troops were killed and another is missing after an Iranian drone and missile attack Friday on a military base in Jordan, Pentagon officials said, marking the first U.S. combat deaths in the Iran war since March.
In a statement, U.S. Central Command said four other American service members were wounded in the attack but have since been released from Jordanian hospitals.
Officials did not specify the exact location of the attack, but media reports and video circulating on social media indicate an Iranian attack on Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which houses American forces.
The American death toll in the Iran war now stands at 16.
CENTCOM did not identify the service members killed.
The incident comes at a crucial moment in the conflict, as the U.S. has ramped up its bombing of targets across Iran over the past week after a ceasefire between the two sides effectively collapsed two weeks ago.
The deaths of American troops at the hands of the Iranian military could change the calculus for President Trump, who has warned Tehran that the U.S. is prepared to escalate if Iran does not make a deal with Washington.
As U.S. forces have intensified bombing across Iran in recent days, the Iranian military has responded by once again firing missiles and drones at targets across the Persian Gulf, including American military outposts in the region. Syrian officials denied Friday that Iranian forces struck a U.S. special operations command center in southern Syria.
Iranian attacks seemingly directed toward U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain have also been thwarted.
But the successful Iranian drone-missile attack in Jordan underscores the danger facing U.S. personnel in the region. In addition to the 16 Americans killed, more than 400 have been wounded in the Iran campaign since it began on Feb. 28, according to Defense Department data.
The U.S.-Iran conflict is now centered largely on control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil exports from the Middle East.
Iran says the memorandum of understanding it signed with the U.S. in June gives Tehran the power to manage traffic in the strait, but the Trump administration insists that Iran must keep the strait free to commercial traffic, including oil tankers.
Mr. Trump reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports and maritime shipping and is using the U.S. military to help non-Iranian ships transit the strait.
Amid the renewed fighting, the White House insisted on Thursday that Iran and the U.S. are still communicating about a possible peace deal.
“Iran very much continues to talk to the United States of America and has expressed that they want to make a deal with us because they are suffering devastating blows,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
It’s unclear whether the deaths of American troops will affect the administration’s willingness to talk.
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