US renews attacks on Iran after US soldier killed: What’s the latest?

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that the United States carried out a ninth straight night of attacks on Iran after US Central Command said an American service member was killed in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from an Iranian drone. CENTCOM said the latest wave was completed at 02:00 GMT on Monday, July 20, 2026, and was aimed at Iranian military command, air defence, maritime, missile, drone and communications capabilities, though it did not identify the specific locations struck.

Iranian state-linked and semiofficial outlets reported several related developments. Tasnim cited Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as saying two oil tankers had “exploded” and stopped in the southern Strait of Hormuz, with the IRGC warning that the waterway would remain unsafe while US operations continue. Mehr reported that an MQ-9 drone was shot down over western Iran, and Tasnim said US strikes hit an area in Khormoj in southwestern Iran, citing a local official.

The IRGC also claimed missile attacks on US aircraft at Aqaba airport in Jordan and on hangars used by US forces at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq. Separately, the US embassy in Bahrain warned Americans that Iran may target unspecified sites in central Manama and advised vigilance and sheltering if alarms or explosions occur. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported a vessel fire near Kumzar, Oman, but said the cause had not been confirmed.

Al Jazeera said US President Donald Trump described the renewed strikes as a response to American military deaths and linked them to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told state media that talks should begin only when Tehran has gained a reliable military and strategic position.