US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US Army had hit Iran “very hard" as US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that it launched strikes on the Islamic Republic for the ninth consecutive night.
Speaking to reporters after attending the World Cup final, Trump said, “Iran has been very, very badly damaged. They've lost everything, almost, militarily. They've got very little left. They've got some missiles. They've got some drones. They've got some manufacturing ability, not much."
He continued, “We control the strait. They don't control anything. So, we'll see what happens."
Trump then added, “But we hit them very hard again tonight. And we did that in honor of the probably three - it's probably three, as opposed to two - great patriots", referring to two US troops who were killed in Jordan over the weekend and the announcement that a third US soldier was killed in northern Iraq during a controlled explosion.
Trump also stated, “What we're doing now is we're ending any chance where they can have a nuclear missile. If you look at it, after a week and a half, not four weeks, we stopped them from ‘probably,’ but I don't want to have the word ‘probably.’"
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States remains open to a diplomatic solution with Iran despite the ongoing strikes.
CENTCOM announced earlier that it began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran.
"The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz," said CENTCOM.
Iranian media outlets reported a wave of American strikes in the city of Tabriz, located in the northwestern part of the country.
Concurrently, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that powerful blasts and multiple explosions were heard in Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini - two major, strategic port cities situated along the coast of the Persian Gulf in southwestern Iran.
On Sunday morning, CENTCOM announced that its forces completed an eighth consecutive round of strikes against Iran at the direction of US President Donald Trump.
Those strikes came after CENTCOM stated that two US service members in Jordan were killed in action on Friday as the US and partner forces defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Additionally, one service member is currently missing.
Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals, CENTCOM added. They have since been discharged. Other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty.