US strikes Iran over attack that killed troops in Jordan
The US military has launched retaliatory airstrikes against Iran's Revolutionary Guard following the death of American troops in Jordan. The conflict has escalated into a weeklong campaign affecting infrastructure in both nations as they vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Why it matters
The direct military confrontation between the US and Iran represents a significant escalation in Middle Eastern geopolitical instability with global economic implications.
<p>The US military launched airstrikes today targeting Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard to retaliate for the <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/07/19/two-us-troops-dead-one-missing-after-iran-attacks-base-in-jordan/" target="_blank">killing of American troops in Jordan</a>, further widening the crossfire between the nations as they fight over Strait of Hormuz.</p> <p>The strikes, now part of a weeklong campaign that has seen Iran strike US-allied countries across the Middle East, comes as an interim deal seeking to find an end to the Iran war has collapsed.</p> <p>The US has <a href="https://www.1news.co.nz/2026/07/18/us-strikes-bridges-in-iran-who-retaliates-by-targeting-neighbours/" target="_blank">targeted bridges</a>, electrical facilities and other targets in Iran, and Tehran has retaliated by hitting power and desalination plants in Kuwait, threatening daily life in that small, oil-rich desert nation.
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