Escalation between USA and Iran: Tehran threatens retaliation, Pentagon reports new attacks

Khamenei announces "unforgettable lessons"

The trigger for the new escalation level was, according to US regional command CENTCOM, an Iranian attack on American soldiers in Jordan, in which several US soldiers were killed. The wave of attacks by the US Army aimed to "schnch bestrafen" the Iranian Revolutionary Guards for this deadly attack, CENTCOM said.

During the night of Sunday, Iranian air defense and coastal surveillance facilities were "successfully" attacked. According to the Iranian Ministry of Health, at least 50 people have died since the new escalation with the USA a good week ago. More than 500 other people were injured.

The officially known number of US soldiers fallen in the war against Iran thus rose to 16. It was the first time since the early days of the Iran war almost five months ago that the US military again reported deaths from Iranian fire.

New US attacks on Iranian air defense

Iran has since adjusted to American defense systems and is firing missiles that travel at extremely high speed and can maneuver during their descent, the "Wall Street Journal" quoted US officials as saying.

US President Donald Trump commented on the deaths among American soldiers, according to the broadcaster NewsNation, with the words: It was "eine sehr traurige Sache". When asked about possible consequences, Trump said, according to NewsNation, that it was ihm "völlig egal" to him. At the same time, he reiterated once more that Iran must not have nuclear weapons.

Trump speaks of "very sad thing"

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said his country had suspended the framework agreement reached with the United States in mid-June and no longer felt bound by it. "Leider haben die Amerikaner mit ihren aggressiven Maßnahmen gegen ihre Verpflichtungen aus der Absichtserklärung von Islamabad verstoßen", Gharibabadi continued. The agreement had stipulated negotiating a final deal to end the war within 60 days.

Tehran terminates framework agreement

Israeli Iran expert Danny Citrinowicz wrote on the online platform X that it is becoming increasingly clear "dass die Ereignisse allmählich außer Kontrolle geraten". Unless something substantial changes soon, the conflict is heading toward a "weitaus gefährlichere Phase" that could become increasingly difficult to contain for both sides.

Citrinowicz also warned of an expansion of the conflict, in which the Gulf states allied with Washington could be drawn in even more directly. Under these circumstances, it will be extremely difficult to "die Eskalationsspirale unter Kontrolle zu halten".

Expert warns of conflict expansion

The United Arab Emirates meanwhile called for "ein sofortiges Ende der Feindseligkeiten sowie eine rasche Rückkehr an den Verhandlungstisch". The UAE Foreign Ministry urged on the platform X an "sofortigen Stopp der Eskalation" and the utmost restraint, "um gefahrliche Auswirkungen und ein Abgleiten der Region in ein neues Ausmaß an Gewalt und Instabilität zu verhindern".

Emirates call for immediate end to violence

Given the virtually non-existent trust between Washington and Tehran, increasingly exhausted mediators, and a dialogue conducted primarily through military strikes, "ist das Risiko einer weiteren Eskalation mittlerweile größer als die Aussichten auf eine Deeskalation", according to an assessment by observers.

The pressure on US President Donald Trump, who is already facing dissatisfaction at home due to the unpopular war, is likely to increase further with the deaths of US soldiers. Trump said, according to NewsNation, that he "sehe das ungern", but reiterated once more that Iran must not have nuclear weapons.

As CENTCOM reported in the morning after the completion of the new wave of attacks, military coastal surveillance and air defense facilities as well as missile and drone storage sites were "erfolgreich" attacked. Reports in Iran about a US missile attack near Qeshm initially persisted.

An Iranian minister briefly stated in a TV interview, according to the state agency: "Wir sind mit der Verteidigung des Landes beschäftigt".

The overall situation is classified as critical by analysts. The spiral of retaliation and counterstrikes, as the warning goes, can only be broken with difficulty as long as both sides communicate exclusively through military means.