US hits Iranian command centers in ninth night of strikes as American death toll rises

The U.S. military conducted its ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, targeting military command centers, air defenses, and missile and drone infrastructure, U.S. Central Command announced Sunday. These operations, which began on July 19 at 10 p.m. ET, aimed to degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian media reported explosions in several cities early Monday, including Tabriz and Chabahar. The latest strikes occurred as the U.S. military death toll rose to three, with one service member killed Saturday in northern Iraq and two others on Friday in Jordan. U.S. President Donald Trump stated, "We hit them very hard again tonight, and we did it in honor of" the fallen service members. Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed a surprise strike against an "enemy's special-operations headquarters" in Syria's Al-Tanf region and launched a drone attack on U.S. military assets in Kuwait. Concerns over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz intensified after a vessel reportedly caught fire near Oman's coast, and oil prices rose 3%.