US launches ninth night of strikes on Iran after death of third soldier confirmed

Published: 00:35, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 00:58, 20 July 2026 United States forces have launched strikes on Iran for a ninth consecutive night, hours after the military confirmed a third soldier was killed in combat.  CENTCOM announced on social media Sunday night that it fired at Iran starting at 7pm EST, vowing to 'continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz.' American forces have already devastated Iranian missile depots, drones and air defenses in a barrage of airstrikes over the weekend, as the US military promised 'swift punishment' for the deaths of two service members.Those strikes concluded at 11.30pm on Saturday and were targeted at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces responsible for the fatal attack on US assets in Jordan on Friday. But on Sunday, CENTCOM announced that a third service member was then killed during a 'controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone' in Northern Iraq during action on Saturday.  President Donald Trump called the deaths 'a very sad thing' in an interview with NewsNation's Hannah Brandt on Sunday, but said their sacrifice was 'in service to our country' as he reaffirmed that 'we're never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.' In addition to the two fatalities, one service member is missing in action, and four others were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals in the attack. The troops have since been discharged, CENTCOM said in a statement on Saturday.  The military has not released any of the soldiers' identities out of respect for the families, as more than 50,000 soldiers were deployed across the Middle East. Those troops were described as 'highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready.'  United States forces launched strikes on Iran for a ninth consecutive night on Sunday. A recent strike on Iranian assets is pictured The US devastated Iranian missile depots, drones and air defenses in the latest barrage of airstrikes after promising 'swift punishment' for the deaths of two American service members But Seyed Mohammed Marandi, an Iranian-American academic who has been labeled a 'mouthpiece' for the Islamic regime, said Tehran has spent decades preparing for a US ground invasion. 'The Americans are planning an invasion. I'm not saying it will necessarily happen. I'm not saying it will necessarily happen in the next few days. But they have plans for an invasion,' Marandi, a former advisor to Iran's nuclear negotiation team, said in an interview with political analyst Glenn Diesen. 'Whether they carry them out or not, we'll see. But the Iranians, as you pointed out, the focus of Iranian strikes is on Bahrain and Kuwait, and that's because that's where most American assets have been placed for a ground invasion,' Diesen replied.  The remarks came as Iran taunted the US with chilling billboards that have fueled conspiracy theories about Senator Lindsey Graham's death and hinted at a possible assassination plot against President Trump.  A heavily-damaged bridge which was hit by a US strike is pictured along the road connecting Roudan and Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on July 18 A massive red billboard popped up in Valiasr Square in Tehran this week, with an eerie message reading: 'Who is D nexT one? #lindseygraham.' It appeared to hint that Trump, 80, is Tehran's next target, as the slogan in English had the unusual capitalization of the letters 'D' and 'T' appearing to reference the 47th US President. In Enghelab Square, in central Tehran, a gigantic corner billboard displayed an image of the US President, his body dressed in a suit peeking out from an open black coffin. Written underneath, in graffiti-style in Persian and English, were the words: 'We will kill Trump.' These political billboards are the latest in a series targeting the US President. Earlier this week, a mural with individual, framed images of Trump, his children and Melania set above US flag-draped coffins and a backdrop of the White House, was unveiled in Palestine Square in Iran.  Billboards have popped up around Tehran, hinting at a Trump assassination plan  One billboard showed Trump in a coffin  The newest billboards have also fueled conspiracy theories that the Middle Eastern country may have been involved in Graham's mysterious death at the age of 71 last weekend, as the politician was in Ukraine just days before, leading people to speculate Tehran may have orchestrated it.  There has been no confirmation or evidence suggesting Iran had anything to do with the senator's death.   This is a breaking news story and will be updated.