Iran war latest: US launches retaliatory strikes as Trump calls deaths of two service members ‘very sad’

Iran’s supreme leader has warned the US that it will face “unforgettable lessons” if it continues its military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

In remarks broadcast on Iranian state television and attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader also described president Donald Trump’s signature as “worthless and invalid”.

Khamenei said any response would come not only from Iran but also from its regional allies, referring to the so-called “Axis of Resistance”, signalling that Tehran could draw on proxy groups across the Middle East as the conflict intensifies.

Iran has announced that it is suspending its commitments under an interim agreement with the United States, accusing Washington of violating the deal through its continued military campaign.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, told state television that Tehran was “no longer implementing” the agreement, which had been signed about a month ago in an effort to permanently end the fighting.

Asked about Iran’s decision, Donald Trump dismissed the move, telling NewsNation he “couldn’t care less”. He added that Washington remained focused on “never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon”.

Fresh US airstrikes have hit areas near the southwestern Iranian city of Shadegan and on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian officials and state media.

Khuzestan’s deputy governor for security, quoted by Tasnim news agency, said emergency teams had been deployed near Shadegan and that further information on the extent of the damage would be released later.

On Qeshm Island, Tasnim reported that at least two explosions were heard after another round of US attacks. Emergency, security and operational teams were sent to assess the locations struck and determine whether there were any casualties or damage.

US president Donald Trump described the deaths of two American service members in Jordan as “a very sad thing” after they were killed while defending against Iranian missile and drone attacks.

Trump told NewsNation that the troops had died “in service of our country” and repeated that the conflict’s central objective was “never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon”.

On Iran’s announcement that it would no longer abide by a US-Iran memorandum of understanding, Trump replied: “I couldn’t care less.”

The US military launched a new wave of airstrikes on Iran on Sunday, saying the attacks were intended to “swiftly punish” the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after an Iranian drone and missile attack on a base in Jordan killed two American service members, left another missing and wounded four others.

US Central Command said the strikes were aimed at further degrading Iran’s ability to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, where Tehran has stepped up maritime operations in recent days.

The US confirmed its first troop deaths from direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war. Since the conflict began, 16 US service members have been killed and more than 430 wounded, according to the Pentagon.

The United Arab Emirates has called for “the utmost restraint” and expressed “deep concern” over the escalation of conflict between the US and Iran.

In a statement on Saturday, the UAE’s ministry of foreign affairs “called for an immediate end to hostilities and a swift return to negotiations and stressed the importance of ensuring safe, uninterrupted navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, calling it vital to the global economy.”

Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs has condemned Iran’s attacks on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait, saying they are “a flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the targeted countries and a blatant breach of international law”.

In a post of social media platform X, the ministry of foreign affairs said that the “targeting [of] electricity and water desalination plants in the State of Kuwait crosses all red lines”.

Qatar warned that the latest strikes were a “dangerous escalation” that would undermine peace efforts.

The most significant damage from Iranian strikes on Saturday occurred in Kuwait, where a water desalination plant and an oil facility were hit, according to the Kuwait authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Both declined to provide locations.

Photos shared through Reuters showed smoke billowing near an oil facility in Ahmadi Governorate, and near the oil facility in Mangaf, Kuwait. The strikes injured several people at the oil facility and caused a fire at the desalination plant, forcing several power generation units offline. It was the second attack against a desalination plant in two days in the tiny desert nation that depends on desalination for 90 per cent of its drinking water.

Oil prices rose more than 4 per cent on Friday to their highest level in more than a month after resumed strikes between the US and Iran.

On Friday, the US said that it would enforce a naval blockade while Iran said it targeted vessels that violated its rules on navigating the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

A power generation and water desalination plant in Kuwait was hit in an Iranian attack, the country’s Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Ministry said in a statement. It was the second attack on Kuwaiti ‌water desalination sites in two days.

Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry said Iran’s targeting of vital infrastructure endangered civilians and violated international law, adding it held Tehran fully responsible for ​the attacks.

Iran has said the US has “violated and suspended all of its commitments” within the interim deal agreed in Pakistan.

In comments reported by Fars news agency on Saturday, deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that, as a result, Tehran has “likewise suspended all our own commitments” agreed in the US memorandum.

Mr Gharibabadi said Iran was now “busy defending the country”.