President Donald Trump warned Iran will face consequences for killing American service members, after three US troops died in separate incidents over the weekend. Trump said on social media that “every time Iran kills an American Soldier” going forward, “they will pay for that killing many times over,” adding that the directive had been relayed to military leaders, USNews reported.
One American service member was killed in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone, while a separate Iranian attack in Jordan left two US troops dead and one missing in action, according to CNN. A CNN Politics analysis argued the deaths deepen an unresolved question about Washington’s endgame, noting the US has now struck Iran on nine consecutive nights and is adding fighter jets to the region.
Iran’s foreign ministry said backchannel exchanges with the US continue through mediators despite the strikes, per Al Jazeera.
The conflict is also opening a second energy chokepoint. Yemen’s Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia on Monday, threatening the kingdom’s East-West Petroline route to the Red Sea port of Yanbu — its main remaining export corridor since the Strait of Hormuz became too dangerous for commercial traffic, Al Jazeera reported.
