US troop death confirmed amid Iran strikes

Key facts

• The U.S. military confirmed the death of a service member following retaliatory strikes against Iran.
• The U.S. military stated its strikes targeted Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites.
• Iran's atomic energy agency reported U.S. strikes targeted a planned nuclear power plant construction site.
• Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain activated air defenses against Iranian drones and missiles.
• Seventeen U.S. service members have been killed since the conflict began.

The U.S. military confirmed the discovery of unidentified remains on Sunday, identifying them as a service member killed in an earlier attack, bringing the total number of U.S. service members killed since the conflict began to 17. This confirmation followed retaliatory strikes by the U.S. against Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, intended to avenge Friday's killing of troops in Jordan.

The renewed exchanges of fire, now in their second week, have seen the U.S. target bridges, water desalination plants, and electrical facilities in Iran, while Tehran has struck U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain again activated their air defenses in response to incoming Iranian drones and missiles. Israel issued a warning that missiles launched toward neighboring Jordan could potentially spill over into Israeli territory.

The U.S. military’s Central Command stated that its strikes targeted "Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities and missile and drone storage sites." The objective was to degrade Iran’s ability to control the strait and "swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces." Footage released by the U.S. military appeared to show fighter jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles being used in the attacks, with one target site seemingly located in a mountainous region where the Guard often bases its missile systems.

Separately, Iran’s atomic energy agency reported that U.S. strikes had targeted the construction site of a planned nuclear power plant in the southwest, according to state television. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs PBC of the Darkhovin nuclear plant site showed earth clearing but minimal construction as of July 9, and Iran had not previously announced it as a targeted location.