Iran-U.S. fighting is escalating quickly after 2 U.S. servicemembers were killed
NPR | By Hadeel Al-Shalchi,
Ayesha Rascoe
Published July 19, 2026 at 8:04 AM EDT
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The fighting in the Middle East escalated this weekend. U.S. Central Command said two U.S. service members are dead and one is missing. The status of the talks to end the war are unknown, as President Trump declared the ceasefire over earlier this month. NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi has been covering this from Istanbul, and she joins us now. Good morning, Hadeel.
HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning.
RASCOE: So what more can you tell us about those two U.S. service members?
AL-SHALCHI: Well, we know that U.S. Central Command said that they were killed in action in Jordan in an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack on Friday. It said that one service member is missing. Four others were wounded. Iran said earlier in the day that it had hit and destroyed U.S. aircraft at an air base that the U.S. uses in northern Jordan. So this brings the total number of U.S. service members killed in this war to 16. More than 400 have been injured. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that the deaths of the U.S. soldiers, quote, "only stiffens our resolve." And Iranian officials said over 3,000 people have been killed in this war, 50 of whom died in these strikes that started more than a week ago.
RASCOE: It does feel like the fighting is getting worse since this round of strikes began.
AL-SHALCHI: I know. So it has escalated quickly. I'd say this is probably some of the worst fighting we've seen since the beginning of the war in February, and both countries have broadened the limits of their fighting. Late Saturday night Eastern time, U.S. CENTCOM said it completed an eighth round of strikes against Iran. Iranian state media said that the U.S. struck six bridges in a southern Iranian province along the Strait of Hormuz - electrical installations, also - and a water desalination plant, leaving 20 villages in the south with water shortages. The U.S. didn't comment on that.
And Iran intensified its own attacks on U.S. bases in the Gulf, including Kuwait and Bahrain and, of course, in Jordan. Just this morning, Kuwait said it was intercepting missiles launched from Iran. Deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure could be considered war crimes under international law. And of course, this is the two countries vying for control over the critical waterway - the Strait of Hormuz. Shipping tracking data has shown that no vessels at all have used it in the last three days. Normally, the strait is a choke point for about 20% of the world's oil supply.
RASCOE: Well, where are the ceasefire talks, you know, right now?
AL-SHALCHI: I think it's safe to say they've stalled, even though when President Trump declared the ceasefire over, he didn't rule out further talks. And we also know that Iranian diplomats have been in touch with mediators in the past few days, but the rhetoric is defiant. We heard from Iran's supreme leader yesterday in an address where he told Iranians to stay steadfast during the war. Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei never appears on camera and has always had a news anchor read his statements.
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UNIDENTIFIED NEWS ANCHOR: (Non-English language spoken).
AL-SHALCHI: "The signature of the U.S. president is worthless and invalid," he said, referring to the memorandum of understanding between the two countries. The MOU was brokered by Pakistan, and it was a 14-point agreement. It was supposed to ease sanctions on Iran, allowing it to sell oil on the international market in exchange for protocols on managing Iran's nuclear program. Also, Iran's deputy foreign minister said yesterday that Iran has suspended all commitments to that memorandum of understanding.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Istanbul. Thank you so much.
AL-SHALCHI: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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