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Two deaths, more strikes
The United States and Iran continued exchanging strikes for an eighth day, after the US military said a service member was killed in northern Iraq on Saturday during "a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance" from a downed Iranian attack drone.
“People stand on a bridge destroyed after a strike in Hormozgan province, southern Iran, Saturday, on July 18, 2026”
CENTCOM said the downed drone also wounded a second service member, and it added that it had found "unidentified remains" after a search of the location of Friday's attack in Jordan.
The BBC said the US and Iran have been accused of striking critical infrastructure, while Washington reimposed its blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed.
The BBC also reported that the US death toll reached 17 after an American Navy pilot who went missing earlier this month was declared dead, and that Iran's health ministry said at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 injured in US strikes over the past three weeks.
The CNBC account said the US death toll rose again when a third American service member was killed in action during recent fighting with Iran, bringing the total to 17 since the conflict began in February.
Threats and political pushback
Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned the United States with "unforgettable lessons" if attacks continued, and the BBC said the comments came hours after a negotiator said Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal signed about a month ago.
The BBC also reported that Khamenei called President Donald Trump’s signature "worthless and invalid" after the US and Iran exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets.
In the US, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC News' "This Week" that the loss of American lives was "tragic" but said the United States' "mission will go on" until President Donald Trump achieves his war goals.
Wright said the president’s mission is to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons and to degrade Iran’s ability to terrorize neighbors and "global commerce," and he said, "So yes, this mission will go on until the mission is done."
The Al Jazeera report quoted Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying, "I’m heartbroken to learn of the deaths of 2 US service members in Jordan," while Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said, "Trump has frighteningly lost control of this war."
Strait of Hormuz at risk
The CNBC report said the weekend developments further jeopardized last month’s fragile truce and raised fresh concerns over oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, as the US sought to guarantee safe passage in the waterway.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC News' "This Week" that the seven-day trailing average was "just under seven million barrels a day flowing through the waterway" and "just under seven million barrels a day additional flow through the bypass pipelines."
The BBC said the UN’s nuclear watchdog called for restraint after Iranian media reported that an under-construction nuclear power plant in the south-western city of Darkhoveyn had been struck overnight, noting the site was "in the very early stages" and contained no nuclear material during its last visit.
Al Jazeera said the US struck Iranian civilian infrastructure in recent days, including bridges and desalination plants, while former senior US naval officer Harlan Ullman warned that fighting risks "spiralling in the wrong direction" and could push the US toward "attacking civilian infrastructure out of desperation."
The Global Times account said a Chinese analyst warned that while both Washington and Tehran seem willing to negotiate, "lingering unwillingness on both sides could cause the situation to fluctuate," as CENTCOM said more than 50,000 US troops in the Middle East "remain highly vigilant."
