US Strikes Iran for Ninth Straight Night as Third Service Member Killed

(WS News) – The United States carried out a ninth consecutive night of airstrikes on Iran over the weekend, with President Trump saying American forces had struck Tehran “very hard again” after a third U.S. service member was confirmed killed since fighting resumed earlier this month.

The renewed campaign follows the collapse of peace talks between Washington and Tehran, which broke down over disagreements tied to a memorandum of understanding on the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command said the latest wave of strikes was intended to further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten shipping through the strait, a vital global oil corridor Iran has repeatedly targeted with missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels.

Explosions were reported in the Iranian city of Shiraz on Monday, and Iran’s government said U.S. strikes have killed at least 46 people and wounded more than 400 since hostilities resumed. Both Bahrain and Kuwait sounded warning sirens and activated air defense systems in response to Iranian attacks over the weekend, while Iran’s acting defense minister said the country had increased, rather than scaled back, its production of missiles and drones during the conflict.

Diplomatic efforts have not stopped entirely. Iran’s interior minister traveled to Islamabad at the invitation of his Pakistani counterpart, who has played a mediating role in past U.S.-Iran negotiations, and Iranian state media reported that Tehran has received fresh proposals from mediators about resuming talks. Trump had earlier floated charging a fee for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring how central the waterway has become to the standoff.