Trump responds as CENTCOM announces 3 US service member deaths in Jordan, Iraq

U.S. Central Command announced late Sunday that U.S. forces successfully completed a ninth consecutive evening of strikes against Iranian targets.

"CENTCOM assets 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," CENTCOM said in a post on X.

"The U.S. military is holding Iran accountable at the Commander in Chief's direction. CENTCOM forces remain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready," the post continued.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. military campaign against Iran is focused on ensuring Tehran has no path to obtaining a nuclear missile.

“We were doing a little job and stopping them from having a certain capability,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews.

“Now we're just ending it, so it's really not the same thing. What we're doing now is we're ending any chance that they can have a nuclear missile,” he added.

Reflecting on the military campaign, Trump said the U.S. had achieved its objective in a matter of days.

“If you look at it after a week and a half — not four weeks, a week and a half, two weeks — we stopped them from probably. But I don't want to use the word 'probably,'” he said.

President Donald Trump on Sunday paid tribute to U.S. service members killed in recent attacks linked to Iran, saying American forces launched another round of strikes "in honor" of them.

At Joint Base Andrews, Trump also said the service members had sacrificed their lives to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"Well, we feel very badly. But you know, those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting so that Iran could not have a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

"Iran has been very, very badly damaged. They've lost everything almost militarily. They've got very little left," he added.

Trump said Iran retained some missiles, drones and manufacturing capability but no longer controlled the strategic situation.

"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. So we'll see what happens. But 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," he said.

A vessel caught fire near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday in the latest maritime security incident in the region, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).

UKMTO said it received a report of the incident about 8 nautical miles (14.8 kilometers) northwest of Kumzar, Oman.

A verified source reported the vessel was on fire. The cause of the fire has not been confirmed.

Earlier this month, three commercial vessels came under attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to The Associated Press.

One liquefied natural gas tanker caught fire after it was struck off Oman.Iranian state television said the vessel came under attack after ignoring warnings but did not directly claim responsibility.

The vessels appeared to be traveling along a shipping route near Oman's coast rather than one Iran has directed vessels to use.

Tehran has repeatedly said only its approved route through the strait is safe and is suspected of attacking ships that use the Omani route.

The U.S. Embassy in Bahrain issued a security alert Sunday, warning that Iran may target locations in central Manama.

"The U.S. Embassy has information to suggest that Iran may seek to target unspecified locations in central Manama," the embassy said in a post shared on X. "

We urge all Americans to remain vigilant, follow local authorities' instructions, and review the latest guidance from the U.S. Embassy," it said.

Manama sits on Bahrain's northeastern coast to the east of Saudi Arabia, and is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters.

Oil prices rose more than 3% on Monday, pushing Brent crude above $90 a barrel, as escalating U.S. and Iranian military strikes heightened concerns over energy supplies moving through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.

Brent crude futures rose $2.75, or 3.1%, to $90.85 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained $2.56, or 3.1%, to $85.05 a barrel.

As the conflict between Washington and Tehran intensified Sunday fears mounted of further disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Sirens sounded again on Sunday across Bahrain, coming after Iran had launched attacks in the Gulf region earlier in the day.

"The siren has been sounded... Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," Bahrain's Interior Ministry said in a post shared on X.

U.S. forces continued to tighten the naval blockade of Iranian ports, redirecting six commercial ships and disabling another, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Sunday.

“U.S. Navy sailors remain focused and vigilant aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn (DDG 113) as American forces continue implementing the naval blockade against Iran,” the command said in a post shared on X.

“As of July 19, CENTCOM has redirected six commercial vessels and disabled one to ensure full compliance,” it added.

President Donald Trump on Sunday called the deaths of two U.S. service members in Jordan "a very sad thing" but said their sacrifice was "in service to our country," while doubling down on Terhan's nuclear ambitions.

Trump made the remarks in an interview with NewsNation's Hannah Brandt after the service members were killed and another remained missing following the Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on July 17.

Brandt said Trump also reaffirmed one of his longstanding foreign policy positions that “we’re never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump also dismissed concerns that Iran had not adhered to the memorandum of understanding (MOU) and the brokered 60-day ceasefire.

According to Brandt, Trump said he "couldn't care less" whether the Iranian regime followed the agreement.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said Sunday that the military is monitoring developments in Iran and “maintaining a high level of readiness,” the Times of Israel reported.

His comments came after shrapnel from an Iranian ballistic missile, which had been fired at Jordan, landed in Israel just north of Eilat. 

“We monitored the launch toward the Aqaba area today, and our air defense array is on alert to protect the citizens of Israel,” Zamir said during a visit to the West Bank.

“We are prepared to immediately resume fighting and will act with great force against anyone who harms us,” he added.

According to The Jerusalem Post, military sources also said the recent attack had shifted the IDF close to a war footing.

Israeli's Iron Dome had shot down fragments of the missile near the border, the outlet reported.

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's whereabouts remain unclear.

Folllowing the Feb. 28 U.S.-Israeli strike that killed his father, Khamenei has not appeared publicly since being named supreme leader.

Reports have suggested he may not be in Iran, The Times of Israel reported.

On Sunday, the Iranian leader referred to the U.S. as "the Great Satan" in his latest post on X and said the United States has learned it can no longer operate freely or dominate the Middle East.

"The Great Satan — the criminal U.S. — has now realized that the continuation of its trouble-free, domineering presence in the region is nothing but a naive fantasy," he said.

"The Great Satan — the criminal U.S. — has now realized that the continuation of its trouble-free, domineering presence in the region is nothing but a naive fantasy," he said.

Kuwait condemned the Iranian attacks on a power generation and a water desalination facility Sunday, calling the strike a direct assault on vital civilian infrastructure.

The Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry said repeated attacks on civilian facilities marked a “dangerous escalation” and violated international law, the United Nations Charter and a U.N. Security Council resolution.

Kuwait said Iran bears full legal and moral responsibility for the attack and its consequences.

Reuters contributed to this report.

The U.S. campaign against Iran will continue despite the deaths of two American service members, according to Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday.

“It’s tragic to lose American lives, but this is a mission that will save countless lives going forward,” Wright told ABC’s “This Week.”

Wright said the administration remains focused on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, weakening its ability to attack neighboring countries and keeping oil and gas moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

“The president is always looking for the diplomatic off-ramp,” Wright said. “But it takes two parties to do that.”

He added that nearly 14 million barrels of oil per day are now leaving the Arabian Gulf region through the strait and bypass pipelines, roughly two-thirds of pre-war levels.

The U.S. war on Iran is back in full swing, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said Sunday.

“Now we’re going to move forward with Plan A again,” McCaul told “Fox News Sunday.” “The military is going to move in, take out their launch pads, take out the ability to send Shahed drones to hit tankers [and] the missiles.”

McCaul said the immediate objective should be destroying targets inside Iran that threaten commercial shipping and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“We’ve got to knock out these targets inside of Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. “That has to be the fundamental objective.”

McCaul praised President Donald Trump for taking military action against Iran’s nuclear program and argued that U.S. forces had been winning before operations were paused for unsuccessful negotiations.

“The military was winning this war against Iran,” McCaul said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said President Donald Trump was prepared to take further action against Iran after Tehran broke its agreement with the United States, former Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus said Sunday.

“He was excited that the president was fed up and had enough with Iran,” Ortagus told “Sunday Morning Futures” of her call with Graham in the final hours before his death earlier this month, adding that Trump was “deciding to hold them accountable for breaking the MOU.”

Ortagus said Graham appeared energized by his work on Iran, Russia sanctions and a potential normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“I’ve never seen him so excited and full of life,” she said.

Ortagus also praised Lebanese President Joseph Aoun for confronting Hezbollah, saying disarming the Iran-backed terrorist group is “consequential and crucial for American national security.”