Two US Troops Killed In Iranian Strike As Strait Of Hormuz Shuts To Shipping Again

Two American service members have been killed and one is missing after Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks on positions in Jordan, the first US military deaths from direct Iranian fire since March and the sharpest escalation yet in the fight for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the losses on Saturday stating that the two personnel were killed in action on 17 July while US and partner forces defended against the incoming attack. A third service member remains unaccounted for. Four others were evacuated to hospitals in Jordan and have since been discharged, and additional personnel assessed for minor injuries returned to duty.

CENTCOM did not identify the base or the region of Jordan where the attack occurred. The names of the dead are being withheld until 24 hours after their families have been notified.

The deaths land in the middle of a week that has effectively closed the world’s most important oil chokepoint for a second time this year. Iran has again declared the Strait of Hormuz shut, and Washington has reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports.

For shipping, transits through the strait fell to eight vessels on Thursday, down from 15 the day before, according to trade intelligence firm Kpler — a three-week low.

Before the conflict started on 28th February, more than 100 ships passed through the waterway every day. Analysts at Lloyd’s List Intelligence describe the strait as largely closed again, with the few vessels still crossing doing so with their transponders switched off.

The commercial fleet is bearing a direct cost. International Maritime Organization (IMO) data records at least nine ships attacked since 6 July, as Iran presses vessels to abandon the US-protected route along the Omani coast and transit instead through Iranian territorial waters.

The most serious of those attacks hit two very large crude carriers operated by ADNOC Logistics & Services, the shipping arm of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Al Bahyah and Mombasa B were both struck by projectiles roughly 13 nautical miles off Oman while running dark. Both suffered significant damage.

The IMO has since revised its casualty figures upward, recording two seafarers killed and 14 injured across the two vessels, with the crew of Mombasa B abandoning ship. The UAE Ministry of Defence attributed the strikes to Iranian cruise missiles. The IRGC has said the tankers were hit after ignoring repeated warnings.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs summoned the Deputy Chief of Mission of Iran’s embassy in New Delhi and lodged a formal protest over the death of an Indian seafarer and serious injuries to two others.

American forces have moved against Iran’s maritime targeting capability in parallel. CENTCOM confirmed the destruction on 16 July of the Port surveillance tower on Iran’s Gulf of Oman coast, describing it as part of a network the IRGC has used for decades to track and target commercial vessels entering the strait.

The underlying dispute remains unresolved. A memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran on 17th June committed Iran to guaranteeing safe passage through Hormuz, but never defined which lanes vessels were entitled to use. That ambiguity is now being settled with missiles.

President Donald Trump has said the strait is open to everyone except Iranian shipping, and has separately demanded a 20 per cent reimbursement on all cargo moving through the waterway in return for American protection. Owners and charterers, watching casualty figures climb on both the naval and commercial sides, are not behaving as though the passage is open.

Reference: CNBC/CNN