Another US service member is killed as 2 sides edge toward wider war

People inspect the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike, which killed five, including three children, that targeted a residential apartment building in Gaza City, on July 18, 2026. (Saher Alghorra/The New York Times)

By AARON BOXERMAN, YAN ZHUAN, HARI RAJ and ERIC SCHMITT

The U.S. military announced Sunday that another service member had been killed in action, bringing the number of American military personnel who have died in the conflict with Iran to 17, as the two sides edged closer to a wider war.

The service member was killed in northern Iraq on Saturday “during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone,” U.S. Central Command said in a statement. The death came a day after Central Command said two U.S. soldiers had been killed during an Iranian missile barrage in Jordan.

That attack, on Friday, left another soldier missing. In the statement Sunday, Central Command said that “unidentified remains” had been found at that location. Those remains were believed to be the missing soldier’s, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The deaths came during a week of spiraling attacks by both sides that hit sensitive infrastructure sites like bridges and water facilities, and that largely demolished what remained of the deal to end the war that President Donald Trump agreed to with Iran last month. The State Department cautioned Americans traveling abroad that tensions in the Middle East had created the “potential for unforeseen escalation.”

U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday said the United States was sending more warplanes to the Middle East, a move that was in the works even before the soldiers’ deaths.

The U.S. military said early Sunday that it had attacked Iranian military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities, as well as the Revolutionary Guard forces responsible for striking U.S. forces in Jordan.

Iran retaliated with strikes on Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, Middle East countries where the United States maintains a significant military presence. In recent days, Iranian attacks have increasingly damaged critical infrastructure, including an oil facility and power and water treatment plants in Kuwait, according to authorities.

Jordan evacuated the international airport and seaport in the coastal city of Aqaba after a “specific and credible threat,” according to the U.S. Embassy there. The country’s air defenses later shot down three Iranian missiles that targeted the country, the Jordanian military said, while a fourth landed in an unpopulated area.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the loss of the U.S. soldiers “only stiffens our resolve.” But the attacks seemed likely to deepen Trump’s dilemma over how to move ahead with the war against Iran he began alongside Israel more than four months ago.

Here’s what else to know:

— Supreme leader’s message: Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, argued the United States had violated the ceasefire deal made in June and called Trump’s signature on it “worthless and invalid,” in a message carried by state media Saturday.

— Aircraft deployment: U.S. officials who were not authorized to publicly discuss operational matters said Sunday that Air Force F-16 fighter jets from Germany and stealthy F-35 jets from Britain were being sent to the Middle East. Additional aerial refueling aircraft were also on the way, according to the officials.

— Jordan in focus: The Iranian attacks on Jordan which killed the two U.S. personnel were the fourth in five days in the country, underlining the Arab nation’s growing strategic importance as a host for U.S. forces in the region.

— Isolation in Iran: At least 50 people in Iran have been killed since the escalation began earlier this month, according to the Iranian Health Ministry. Residents say they live in fear of the attacks.