Two American service members were killed in action in Jordan on Friday as United States forces defended against a wave of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, US Central Command announced Saturday, marking the first American military deaths of the renewed conflict with Iran.
CENTCOM said in a statement posted to X that the two service members were killed while it and partner forces worked to intercept the Iranian barrage, and that a third service member is currently missing in action. Four additional American troops were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan following the attack but have since been discharged, the statement said, while other personnel treated for minor injuries have already returned to duty.
Out of respect for the families of the fallen, CENTCOM said it will withhold further details, including the identities of the two soldiers, until 24 hours after their next of kin have been formally notified.
The strike on Jordan came as part of a broader Iranian retaliatory barrage that also targeted Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar following a seventh consecutive night of American airstrikes on Iranian territory. It marked a rare instance of Iranian fire reaching Jordan since the kingdom was struck earlier in the week for the first time in months, when sirens sounded in Amman and the US Embassy there warned staff to shelter in place from possible incoming missiles, drones, or rockets.
The American deaths land at a particularly combustible moment in the conflict. Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who took over the position after his father's death earlier this year, issued a statement accusing the United States of repeatedly violating the memorandum of understanding meant to restrain the fighting, declaring that President Donald Trump's signature on the agreement is "utterly worthless and devoid of credibility." Khamenei has threatened to teach the US what he called "unforgettable lessons," while Iran's deputy foreign minister said Tehran has suspended implementation of its commitments under the interim agreement with Washington, blaming American violations.
The US, for its part, has continued to escalate its own campaign against Iran. Overnight strikes this week hit Iranian bridges, including key rail links used for trade with China and Russia, for the first time since April, alongside air defense systems, missile and drone storage sites, and naval infrastructure along Iran's coast. Iran's health ministry has said the American strikes have killed 50 people inside the country since June 27, with more than 500 wounded.
The attack on US forces in Jordan is the first fatal strike on American troops in the kingdom since a January 2024 drone attack by an Iran-backed militia on the Tower 22 outpost near the Syrian border killed three US Army Reserve soldiers and wounded dozens more. That earlier attack, which the Biden administration attributed to Iran-aligned militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq, was the deadliest attack on American forces in the region since the October 7 Hamas assault on Israel.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
