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Night Strikes and Deaths
The United States carried out an 11th consecutive night of strikes on Iran, with Central Command saying it completed the latest round at about 8:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday and that the strikes lasted just over an hour.
CENTCOM said it hit aircraft hangars, drone storage and operations centers "to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," while the conflict’s toll for U.S. forces was described as 18 deaths since the start of the war.
CBS News reported Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers the Iran war has cost about $37.5 billion, and it also said multiple sources familiar with the matter said the total cost could be far higher.
The Pentagon identified 28-year-old active-duty Army Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad of Ozone Park, New York, as the third soldier believed to have been killed in an Iranian strike on a Jordan base, saying his status was updated to "Duty Status–Whereabouts Unknown and is believed to be deceased."
In parallel, the Kuwaiti army said early Wednesday local time it was "confronting attacks by hostile drones" from Iran, as the U.S. military continued nightly strikes in the region.
Trump, Rubio, and Schumer
In Washington, President Donald Trump told reporters the Pentagon was hitting Iran "very hard" to honour the three service members killed in Jordan and Iraq, and he said, "We hit them very hard again tonight."
Al Jazeera also quoted U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging that Washington was still open to diplomacy but that it "has to be real," while he urged "other countries" to "step up" to help protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The same Al Jazeera account described Iran and the U.S. taking aim at shipping traffic, with Washington enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports and Tehran saying it targets vessels violating its rules on navigating the Strait of Hormuz.
Middle East Eye reported that Democrats in Washington pressed for an end to the war, quoting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer writing on X, "Every second Trump prolongs his war in Iran is another second our service members remain in danger."
Middle East Eye further said Democrats would force another vote on halting military operations, quoting Schumer: "Enough is enough. End this war," as the attacks continued across Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
Cost, Shipping, and Wider Risk
CBS News said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth estimated the war’s cost at about $37.5 billion, but it also reported that two Democratic sources and a third source familiar with the matter told CBS News the actual cost could be far higher.
“Escalation with Iran: Attacks on Jordan and Bahrain and Two Ships Hit in the Strait of Hormuz (Summary) Amman announced that air defense systems shot down five drones and three ballistic missiles since last night”
The Arab Weekly tied the escalation to the Strait of Hormuz and reported that a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, while it also described Iran’s Revolutionary Guards saying it targeted infrastructure in Bahrain belonging to U.S. tech company Amazon.
France 24 reported Trump hardened his rhetoric against Iran and said the Islamic Republic would need more than 20 years to rebuild what the Middle East war destroyed, while also quoting Trump: "If we leave now, Iran would need between 15 and 20 years to rebuild."
France 24 also described Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meeting Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momini and urging all parties to exercise restraint, while it said the confrontation erupted on February 28 with the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and that Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding on June 17.
In a separate thread of consequences, Al Jazeera reported that CENTCOM said it redirected six commercial vessels and disabled another ship to ensure "full compliance" with its blockade, as it warned the corridor would remain unsafe under Iranian claims about chemical fertiliser and oil and gas.
