Pentagon reports nearly 100 service members injured as Iran escalates reprisals
The U.S. military said almost 100 personnel suffered injuries, mostly minor, amid a series of Iranian attacks following ten nights of U.S. airstrikes, while a tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Pentagon disclosed that nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured in the past two weeks as Iran launched a series of retaliatory strikes after ten consecutive nights of U.S. air attacks. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, including air-defence systems and a radar installation, and claimed responsibility for an incident in the Strait of Hormuz where a tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.
Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan reported activating defenses to repel the attacks. Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said most of the injured suffered "minor concussions" and that 96% had returned to work, rejecting claims that the department was withholding injury data.
In the same period, three U.S. soldiers were killed in Jordan and Iraq. The ongoing conflict has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for about one-fifth of global oil and gas trade, and prompted Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis to announce a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, threatening to close the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
Saudi Arabia’s military said it would keep the waterway open, but the embargo adds pressure on the kingdom’s oil exports, which have already been rerouted through Red Sea ports due to the Hormuz disruption. Meanwhile, Iran’s interior minister visited Pakistan for talks, though the interim agreement reached last month to halt fighting has reportedly collapsed.
The escalation has lifted oil prices, with Brent crude trading above $88 a barrel and U.S. gasoline averaging $4 a gallon, adding to consumer cost concerns ahead of the November midterm elections.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency confirmed reports that a tanker was hit eight nautical miles east of Oman’s Limah, noting that the crew evacuated to a lifeboat and no environmental impact was observed. The U.S. has advised vessels to use the route around Oman to avoid Iranian-controlled waters.