CENTCOM Confirms Two U.S. Troops Killed, One Missing in Jordan Strike

TAMPA / AMMAN — U.S. Central Command confirmed Saturday that two American service members were killed in action, one is missing, and four were wounded in an Iranian missile and drone attack on a U.S. base in Jordan on Friday. The confirmation, posted on X by CENTCOM, is the first acknowledgment by Washington of American deaths in the current U.S.–Iran conflict and comes hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the strike.

What We Know

CENTCOM said two service members were killed in action, one is listed as missing, and four sustained injuries in the Friday attack in Jordan, according to a Jerusalem Post report citing the command’s statement. The IRGC earlier described its operation as a “devastating and simultaneous missile and drone attack” targeting fighter-jet shelters and a landing area, according to Middle East Eye.

The confirmation aligns Iranian and American accounts on the fact of the strike and its lethality, though not yet on the base’s identity or the scope of damage. Task & Purpose, citing defense sources, reported that Iranian drones and missiles targeted several American bases across the Middle East on Friday. Jordan hosts multiple U.S. facilities used to support regional operations, including Tower 22 near the Syrian border, where a January 2024 Iranian-aligned militia drone strike killed three American service members.

The strike marks the first U.S. military deaths in the seven-week fighting cycle that resumed after the June 17 U.S.–Iran memorandum of understanding collapsed. U.S. Central Command has conducted seven consecutive nights of airstrikes on Iran, and Iran said Saturday that renewed U.S. strikes since June 27 have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.

What We Don’t Know

CENTCOM has not identified the base struck, the names of the killed or missing service members, or the branch of service. The command has not stated whether the missing service member is presumed captured, killed, or unaccounted for in rubble. The number and type of Iranian munitions that reached the target, the extent of damage to aircraft or infrastructure, and whether Jordanian personnel were harmed have not been disclosed. The story is developing.

Context

The last confirmed U.S. military deaths from an Iranian-aligned attack in Jordan came in January 2024, when a drone launched by Kataib Hezbollah struck the Tower 22 logistics outpost, killing three U.S. Army reservists. President Biden ordered retaliatory strikes on 85 targets in Iraq and Syria within a week. The current Trump administration has been striking Iran directly for seven consecutive nights and has threatened to expand attacks to Iran’s power grid. IRGC-linked adviser Mohsen Rezaei this week warned of “full-scale offensive operations” if U.S. strikes continued, and Iran’s parliament speaker said Iranian forces now have “complete freedom of action.”

The confirmed U.S. deaths raise the political and military stakes sharply. Congressional war-powers pressure, which had been building through the week, is likely to intensify with confirmed American casualties, as is domestic pressure on President Trump to demonstrate deterrence through a larger reprisal.

What to Watch

1. Whether the White House and CENTCOM identify the base, name the fallen, or clarify the status of the missing service member in the coming hours.
2. Whether President Trump orders an escalation of U.S. strikes beyond infrastructure — the power grid, IRGC leadership, or nuclear-adjacent targets — in direct response to American deaths.
3. Statements from Jordan’s government on whether Amman will continue to host U.S. forces after a confirmed lethal strike on its territory.