The USA launched more airstrikes at Iran on Sunday in response to the killing of U.S. troops, and Iran fired missiles toward Jordan that risked widening the conflict into neighboring Israel.
Step-by-step, the U.S. and Iran have returned closer to all-out war as last month’s interim deal meant to permanently end the fighting has crumbled and shipping traffic within the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. Each side have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by thousands and thousands of individuals.
The U.S. military said the most recent strikes targeted Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for Friday’s killing of troops in Jordan. The campaign, now in its second week, has seen the U.S. goal bridges, water desalination plants and electrical facilities in Iran. Tehran has hit U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East.
Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain again activated air defenses for incoming Iranian drones and missiles. Israel warned that missiles launched toward neighboring Jordan could cause fire to spill over into Israeli territory for the primary time in weeks.
Iran says a nuclear site under construction was hit
The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit “Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities and missile and drone storage sites.” It said the attack was designed to degrade Iran’s ability to regulate the strait and “swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces,” an influence base in Iran’s theocracy that controls its ballistic missile arsenal.
Footage released by the U.S. military appeared to point out strikes carried out by fighter jets and by Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from the ocean. One goal site seemed to be in a valley of a mountainous region. The Guard often has missile bases and other military equipment tucked into mountain ranges.
Iran’s atomic energy agency said U.S. strikes targeted the development site of a planned nuclear power plant within the southwest, state television reported.
Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC of the Darkhovin nuclear plant site showed earth clearing but little construction as of July 9. Iran didn’t previously announce it as being targeted.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the location, within the “very early stages of construction,” contained no nuclear material when the U.N. watchdog last visited.
Jordan and nearly every Gulf Arab state have been targeted
Jordan’s military said it shot down several Iranian missiles. The country hosts major U.S. bases and relies on U.S. air-defense systems. The missiles didn’t cause casualties or damage, based on Jordan’s military.
Jordan later summoned Iran’s chargé d’affaires to protest, state-run television reported.
Israel’s military said Iranian missiles launched toward the Jordanian port city of Aqaba just across the border could spill over, warning Israelis to expect the primary air-raid sirens in weeks.
Eilat, the Israeli city that neighbors Aqaba, cited security officials as saying two interceptors were launched from its outskirts to forestall the autumn of debris.
In the course of the latest fighting, Iran has focused attacks on U.S.-allied Arab states quite than Israel, which launched the war with the U.S. on Feb. 28. “We’re prepared to right away resume combat,” the Israeli military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said.
Kuwait said one in all its power and water desalination plants was attacked for the second time in two days, causing fires. Its Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy said the facility grid stays stable. In Kuwait, about 90% of drinking water comes from desalination.
The secretary-general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, has accused Iran of war crimes for strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.
International humanitarian law generally protects civilian infrastructure reminiscent of bridges and power plants from attack, but such sites can lose protections if used for military purposes. In such cases, attacks should be proportionate and minimize civilian harm.
The Strait of Hormuz stays key to the conflict
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to focus on Iran’s power stations and bridges to attempt to compel Tehran to loosen its hold on the Strait of Hormuz, which saw one-fifth of worldwide oil supplies transit before the war. Recent attacks suggest the U.S. military is carrying out that plan.
The U.S. prior to now week reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to halt its shipments of crude oil. The military on Saturday said it had redirected five ships and disabled one since then.
A maritime organization overseen by the U.S. Navy said Sunday that the threat to mariners is severe after previous Iranian attacks, “with deliberate hostile motion considered highly likely.” It said traffic remained low, with eight transits on Saturday and three on Friday. The day by day average before the war was almost 140.
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in a press release Saturday, warned of “unforgettable lessons” if the U.S. keeps attacking the Islamic Republic. An Iranian negotiator said Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal and accused the U.S. of violating it.
The halfway point has passed within the 60 days the deal got down to negotiate the everlasting end of the war and other issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.
Because the war began, 16 U.S. service members have been killed and over 430 wounded. Iranian authorities on Sunday said at the very least 50 people have been killed and 517 wounded in the most recent U.S. strikes. Iran has provided no overall information on its materiel losses.
Removed from the region, the war’s effects on the costs of fuel and other goods have hit among the world’s most vulnerable areas hard.
–Metz reported from Ramallah, West Bank. Associated Press author Toqa Ezzidin in Cairo contributed.
© 2026 The Canadian Press