DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — American forces carried out airstrikes Sunday against Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, responding to the deaths of U.S. troops in Jordan and escalating an already intense military confrontation between the two countries over the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes are now part of a campaign stretching over a full week, during which Iran has launched attacks against U.S.-allied nations across the Middle East. Efforts to reach an interim agreement to end the conflict have fallen apart.
American forces have hit bridges, electrical infrastructure, and other targets inside Iran. In response, Tehran has struck power and water desalination facilities in Kuwait, disrupting everyday life in that small, oil-rich nation. Iran has also threatened to expand its attacks further, prompting an overnight warning from the United Arab Emirates, which includes the cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
U.S. Central Command said its forces struck Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defense installations, maritime assets, and storage sites for missiles and drones. Officials also confirmed for the first time that the Revolutionary Guard — a major pillar of Iran’s government and the force that oversees its ballistic missile program — was directly targeted.
Video released by the U.S. military appeared to show attacks carried out by fighter jets and Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from naval vessels. One of the targeted locations appeared to be situated in a mountainous valley — terrain where the Revolutionary Guard frequently conceals missile installations and military equipment.
Iran has not released any accounting of the military losses it has suffered during the American campaign, which has now entered its eighth day as both nations compete for dominance over the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow passage at the entrance to the Persian Gulf through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas trade flows during peacetime.
The U.S. military said an Iranian strike on a base in Jordan killed two American service members, left one missing, and sent four others to the hospital. Since the broader conflict began, 16 U.S. service members have been killed and more than 430 have been wounded.
Iranian officials stated Saturday that the most recent American strikes have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500 others.
