The confrontation between the United States and Iran entered a new phase of escalation after the US military launched new airstrikes on Saturday targeting sites in southern Iran, the first major attack since the collapse of the memorandum of understanding between the two countries, while US President Donald Trump affirmed that the goal of the operations is to prevent Tehran from possessing a nuclear weapon, declaring he does not care about Iran's announcement of abandoning the understanding.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that the strikes began at 10:00 p.m. GMT, saying they aim to "undermine Iran's ability to threaten commercial navigation in the Strait of Hormuz" and to punish the Revolutionary Guard after the attack that killed two American soldiers in Jordan.

In response, Iranian media reported hearing explosions in the cities of Bandar Abbas, Qeshm, and Bandar Lengeh, in addition to targeting areas near the towns of Sirik and Hajiabad in the south of the country, with no official announcement on the extent of casualties.

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In his first comment, US President Donald Trump said in a call with NewsNation that the two American soldiers who were killed "died in the service of our country," stressing that the main goal of the war is "not to allow Iran to possess a nuclear weapon."

In response to Tehran's announcement that it is no longer committed to the memorandum of understanding with Washington, Trump said: "I don't care about that at all."

Concurrently with the strikes, the US Central Command confirmed the continuation of its naval operations in the region, noting that its forces continue to impose a naval blockade on Iran and that they diverted five commercial ships and disabled another until July 18, as part of protecting navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

This escalation comes hours after CENTCOM announced the killing of two American soldiers and the loss of a third following an Iranian attack targeting US forces in Jordan, a development that Washington considered an overstepping that warrants a direct military response.