By Idriss LAWAL
The United States have confirmed military deaths since Washington renewed hostilities in the US-Israel war against Iran.
Those deaths brought to 16 the confirmed number of US military fatalities since US-Israeli strikes started the war on February 28.
It said airstrikes on Sunday is aimed to “punish” Iran over the first US military deaths
Iran rapidly announced its own retaliation, saying two US bases in Kuwait were targeted in response to more than a week of intensifying attacks — which Tehran said included strikes on an airport, a railway station and bridges.
Since the start of the war, Iran has targeted Gulf and regional states hosting US troops to retaliate against intense American airstrikes, claiming these host nations act as launchpads for Western aggression.
A preliminary deal aimed at ending the war has collapsed as Washington and Tehran fight to break the deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway key to the world’s oil supply.
Iran closed the strait after the war broke out, and control over the route has become leverage in negotiations with Washington, which reimposed on Tuesday its own blockade of Iran’s ports.
The Iranian army announced on Sunday it targeted two US bases in Kuwait with drones, hitting an ammunition depot at Camp Udairi and Patriot radar and air surveillance systems at the Ali Al Salem Air Base.
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Tehran had also launched fresh strikes in Jordan, where the US military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) said two service members were killed Friday as they “defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.”
It said another service member was still missing in action.
The US military said that it carried out an eighth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, with targets including units behind the attack that killed two American troops in Jordan.
The attacks aimed to “swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night”, said US Central Command.
The Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim simultaneously reported US attacks on Sirik, a port located on the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran.
