U.S. Central Command Conducts Ninth Night of Strikes on Iranian Military Sites; Reports 17 U.S. Troops Killed

U.S. Central Command completed its ninth consecutive evening of strikes on Iranian territory on July 19 at 10 p.m. ET. The strikes hit military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks.

CENTCOM stated the targets were chosen to reduce Iran's ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz. A U.S. official said the United States would ensure free passage through the strait even without a deal with Iran.

The same official noted that roughly 14 million barrels of oil move daily from the Middle East through the region. Iran's Atomic Energy Organization reported that U.S. strikes hit the Darhovin nuclear power plant under construction overnight into July 19.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei compared the U.S. targeting of watchtowers and power plants in Chabahar to tactics used by the Islamic State group. An agency report stated the number of U.S.

Service members killed in the conflict with Iran reached 17, with more than 400 injured. President Trump wrote on Truth Social that Republicans should add Iran to a sanctions bill targeting Russia. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated there are currently no specific arrangements for a phone call between President Putin and Mojtaba Khamenei.

Aoun said implementation of a framework agreement to end conflict with Israel would begin with Israeli troop withdrawals from southern Lebanon.