President Donald Trump said Sunday that the United States had struck Iran “very hard” in honor of three American servicemembers killed in recent days, as U.S. Central Command announced it had successfully completed a ninth consecutive evening of strikes targeting Iran’s military infrastructure and its ability to attack commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We hit them very hard again tonight, and we did that in honor of the probably three — it’s probably three, as opposed to two — great patriots,” Trump told reporters while returning to Washington after attending the World Cup final.
Trump said Iran had been “very, very badly damaged” during the continuing U.S. campaign and had lost nearly all of its military strength.
“They’ve lost everything, almost, militarily,” he said. “They’ve got very little left. They’ve got some missiles. They’ve got some drones. They’ve got some manufacturing ability — not much.”
“We control the strait. They don’t control anything,” Trump added. “So, we’ll see what happens.”
Asked about the American fatalities, Trump said the administration felt “very badly” and argued that the fallen servicemembers had been fighting to ensure that Iran could never obtain a nuclear weapon.
“What we’re doing now is we’re ending any chance where they can have a nuclear missile,” Trump said. “After a week and a half — not four weeks — we stopped them from ‘probably,’ but I don’t want to have the word ‘probably.’”
Trump’s remarks came after CENTCOM announced that two U.S. servicemembers were killed Friday after American and partner forces came under an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack while defending a U.S. position in Jordan.
Four additional servicemembers were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan but have since been discharged, according to CENTCOM, while other personnel treated for minor injuries returned to duty.
The military also announced that another American servicemember was killed in northern Iraq during a controlled explosion while recovered remains continued undergoing identification, bringing the reported U.S. death toll during the conflict to 17.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth paid tribute to the fallen troops, describing them as American heroes who gave their lives protecting their fellow servicemembers and defending the United States from Iran’s attacks.
U.S. Central Command announced Sunday night that American forces had successfully completed their ninth consecutive evening of strikes against Iran, concluding another round of attacks ordered by President Donald Trump as part of the ongoing campaign to degrade Tehran’s military capabilities.
CENTCOM said its forces targeted Iranian military command centers, air-defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks “to further diminish Iran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
The latest operation followed eight consecutive nights of U.S. strikes that have systematically targeted Tehran’s missile, drone, air-defense, naval, and military command infrastructure. During Saturday night’s operation, American forces struck Iranian coastal surveillance and air-defense facilities, maritime capabilities, missile and drone storage sites, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel involved in launching Friday’s deadly attacks against American servicemembers in Jordan, according to CENTCOM.
“More than 50,000 U.S. men and women in uniform are operating across the Middle East,” CENTCOM said.
“The U.S. military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief’s direction,” the command added. “CENTCOM forces remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready.”
The latest strikes also came as the United States continued enforcing its naval blockade against Iran while maintaining control over commercial traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM said that, as of Sunday, American forces had redirected six commercial vessels and disabled another to ensure compliance with the blockade, which was reinstated after Iran resumed attacks against commercial shipping and civilian mariners.
The Trump administration has said the blockade and accompanying military operations are intended to prevent Tehran from threatening international shipping while stripping Iran of the missiles, drones, surveillance systems, and maritime assets used to carry out those attacks.
Iranian media reported explosions across several parts of the country during the latest American operation.
Iran’s Press TV reported a wave of U.S. strikes in Tabriz, a major city in the country’s northwest.
The Tasnim news agency also reported powerful blasts and multiple explosions in Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini, two strategically important port cities along Iran’s Persian Gulf coast.
The latest strikes came as Iran continued launching missile and drone attacks against U.S. forces and American allies across the region.
Shortly before CENTCOM announced the latest round of strikes, warning sirens sounded across parts of Kuwait as the country’s military confronted another wave of hostile Iranian drones.
“Kuwaiti air defenses are currently confronting attacks by hostile drones, following the sinful Iranian aggression,” the Kuwait Army said.
Jordan has also repeatedly come under Iranian missile and drone attacks targeting American and allied forces stationed in the kingdom, including Friday’s assault that killed the two U.S. servicemembers.
The latest round of American operations was part of a military campaign that Trump has said will continue until Iran can no longer threaten U.S. troops, attack commercial shipping, or develop a nuclear weapon.
“We control the strait,” Trump said Sunday. “They don’t control anything.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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