Gold marginally lower amid firmer dollar as U.S.-Iran tensions escalate further
Investing.com-- U.S. Central Command said on Saturday that two U.S. service members were killed during Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks in Jordan on July 17, while one remains missing.
Media reports showed that this was the first time U.S. troops have been killed since the fighting resumed two weeks ago.
At least two Iranian ballistic missiles struck Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan on Saturday, according to Reuters. The base hosts U.S. troops and fighter aircraft and serves as a key hub for American military operations in the region.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in a statement broadcast on Iranian state television, said Washington’s previous actions had undermined confidence in agreements signed by the U.S. president.
Iran has suspended implementation of its obligations under the Iran-U.S. Islamabad memorandum after Washington allegedly violated its commitments, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Saturday, according to Iran’s semi-official news agency.
Gharibabadi said the U.S. had "violated and suspended all its commitments" under the memorandum, prompting Tehran to stop implementing all of its own obligations, the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported.
"We have also suspended all our obligations under the memorandum and are currently implementing none of them," he said, according to ISNA.
Iran renewed missile and drone attacks against US allies across the Gulf on Saturday after a seventh consecutive night of American strikes targeted military and logistics sites inside Iran, Reuters reported
The latest escalation came one week after a fragile ceasefire agreement collapsed, raising the risk of a return to broader conflict and further disruption to regional energy supplies.
US Central Command said fighter aircraft, drones and warships struck surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage and maritime capabilities. More than 50,000 American personnel remain deployed across the Middle East.
Iranian media reported strikes in Hormozgan province and the cities of Sirik, Ahvaz, Yazd, Jask and Khorramabad. Three people were killed and eight injured after two bridges and a road tunnel were damaged early Saturday.
Missiles also struck power facilities and desalination pumps in Jask, cutting drinking-water supplies to surrounding villages, according to a local official.
At least five bridges were reportedly hit in southern Iran on Friday. Seven people were killed near the port of Bandar Khamir, where a railway station was also damaged. An airport in Iranshahr, near the Pakistani border, was struck farther inland.
The United Nations expressed concern about attacks on civilian infrastructure in Iran and elsewhere in the region.
Tehran retaliated against countries hosting US military facilities, announcing attacks on Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan. Saudi Arabia issued early warnings in two areas but had not reported damage.
Kuwaiti authorities said an Iranian strike hit a power generation and desalination facility, causing a fire and disrupting several electricity-generating units. The country’s military later said it was responding to additional drone attacks.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also claimed they destroyed a US drone depot and Bahrain’s main artificial intelligence centre using ballistic missiles and drones. Those claims were not independently confirmed.
Separately, Iran’s navy fired a shore-to-sea cruise missile towards what it described as a hostile US vessel in the northern Indian Ocean. No American confirmation of damage was available.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has become another front in the conflict. The waterway handles about one-fifth of global oil supplies.
Washington said its forces redirected four commercial vessels, disabled one, and boarded another while enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran claimed it stopped four vessels that violated its navigation rules using missiles and drones. Iranian media also said two oil tankers exploded after entering a mined route south of the strait, an account rejected by the US military.
The Revolutionary Guards warned that no oil, gas, or chemical fertiliser would leave the region until US attacks stopped.
Oil prices rose more than 4% on Friday to their highest level in over a month, adding political pressure on President Donald Trump ahead of November’s congressional elections.
Security concerns also spread to the Red Sea after armed men seized a vessel off Yemen, threatening another major route for global energy shipments.
Simon Mugo contributed to this report