U.S. Completes Ninth Night of Strikes on Iranian Military Targets

m. ET. The strikes hit Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks. CENTCOM said the targets were chosen to reduce Iran's ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz.

Response and Regional Claims 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.

A U.S. official said the United States would ensure free passage through the Strait of Hormuz even without a deal with Iran. President Trump wrote on Truth Social that Republicans should add Iran to a sanctions bill targeting Russia. The official added that roughly 14 million barrels of oil move daily from the Middle East through the region.

An agency report said the number of U.S. service members killed in the conflict with Iran reached 17, with more than 400 injured.

Aoun said implementation of a framework agreement to end conflict with Israel would begin with Israeli troop withdrawals from southern Lebanon. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there are currently no specific arrangements for a phone call between President Putin and Mojtaba Khamenei.