Iran declared it would no longer implement the cease-fire memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with the United States and then carried out concentrated strikes on key facilities in neighboring Middle Eastern countries and on U.S. military bases. In the process, for the first time since the war broke out, U.S. service members were killed by a direct Iranian attack.
According to Iranian state TV on the 18th (local time), Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, issued a statement saying the United States had repeatedly violated the MOU, adding, "The U.S. president's signature has once again proven to have neither value nor effect."
Khamenei referred to the United States as the "Great Satan," criticizing that "the dark experience of crimes and broken promises has become yet another clear proof of the United States' dishonesty, irrationality, unreliability and meanness."
The statement came just hours after Kazem Gharibabadi, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs who led Iran's delegation in working-level talks with the United States, said Iran would suspend fulfillment of its obligations under the MOU. Vice Minister Gharibabadi said, "If the other side (the United States) does not implement the agreement, Tehran has no reason to abide by it."
After announcing its plan to scrap the MOU, Iran carried out concentrated strikes on power plants, seawater desalination facilities, and U.S. military facilities in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan and Qatar. According to Reuters and others, the Kuwaiti government said Iran attacked its domestic power and desalination facilities for two consecutive days, halting operations at some power equipment.
U.S. casualties also mounted. U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations against Iran, said, "On July 17, while Central Command and allied forces were defending against Iran's ballistic missile and drone attacks, two U.S. service members stationed in Jordan were killed and one is missing."
Central Command did not disclose the exact location of the attack, but the site hit by Iran appears to be a U.S. Air Force base in Jordan. dpa reported, "A key U.S. base in Jordan is in Azraq, about 100 kilometers northeast of the capital, Amman."
This is the first time since the outbreak of the Iran war in February that a U.S. soldier has been killed by a direct attack by Iranian forces. According to the Associated Press, since the war broke out on Feb. 28, U.S. deaths have reached 16 and injuries have surpassed 430.
Amid strong antiwar sentiment in the United States, news of the U.S. combat deaths is expected to pose a significant political burden for President Donald Trump, who has ordered Iranian airstrikes. There is also speculation that airstrikes against Iran, which continued for seven consecutive days through the previous day in retaliation for the U.S. casualties, could be further intensified.