US Reports Third Service Member Killed, Finds Remains Amid Escalating Iran Conflict

The U.S. said on Sunday that a third American service member was killed in action during recent fighting with Iran, and American forces found unidentified remains near the site of an attack by Iran that left two American service members dead and one missing.

American forces earlier Sunday conducted their eighth straight night of attacks on Iran in retaliation for Tehran's deadly strikes and to attempt to guarantee safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz.

The developments over the weekend further jeopardized last month's fragile truce between the two sides, raising fresh concerns over oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. And it indicates that the war with Iran could be entering a new, deadly phase that could throw the world economy back into chaos.

U.S. Central Command said Sunday American forces "found unidentified remains at the location" of the Jordan strikes that killed two on July 17, and they are working to identify the remains. A third service member was killed in Iraq on Saturday "during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone."

The fatality brings the U.S. death toll to 17 since the conflict began in February.

Earlier Sunday, Central Command said it completed an eighth straight night of strikes against Iranian targets.

"CENTCOM forces successfully hit Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, maritime capabilities, and missile and drone storage sites to continue degrading Iranian military capabilities," it said in a post on X.

"American military assets also targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces that launched attacks against U.S. service members in Jordan on July 17," it added.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Jordan's capital, Amman, issued a security alert Sunday, saying Jordanian authorities evacuated the international airport and seaport in Aqaba "due to a specific and credible threat" without elaborating.

However, Jordan reportedly denied issuing any decision to evacuate the facilities.

"No potential threats have been recorded by the relevant Jordanian authorities in the past few hours," Reuters quoted government spokesperson Mohammad Al-Momani as saying in a written statement. "The airport and port are operating normally."

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered military forces to launch new airstrikes, starting late Saturday, in order to "degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz" and "punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night," according to Centcom.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday sought to allay concerns that the renewed fighting will again close the Strait of Hormuz and spike energy prices.

"The seven-day trailing average right now is just under seven million barrels a day flowing through the waterway, and just under seven million barrels a day additional flow through the bypass pipelines," Wright said during an appearance on ABC News' "This Week." "What we're doing is assuring that oil and gas and other products can flow through the Strait of Hormuz with or without Iranian cooperation."

Pressed on recent data that showed slowing traffic in the strait, Wright said: "Almost all the public data I've seen is incorrect." Research firm Kpler said on Friday that crossings in the strait on Thursday had decreased to 8 vessels.