ISTANBUL (Anadolu)

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Saturday that two American soldiers were killed and a third went missing on Friday in Jordan while repelling Iranian attacks with ballistic missiles and drones.

CENTCOM said in a statement: 'Yesterday, Friday, two American service members were killed while on duty in Jordan, as CENTCOM and partner forces repelled Iranian attacks with ballistic missiles and drones, and another soldier remains missing.'

It stated that four American service members were medically evacuated to hospitals in Jordan.

It confirmed that they later left the hospitals after receiving treatment, and other personnel who were evaluated for minor injuries returned to duty.

CENTCOM added that it will withhold additional information, including the identities of the killed soldiers, out of respect for their families, until 24 hours after their next of kin have been formally notified.

On Friday, Jordan's Armed Forces said air defense systems intercepted and shot down three Iranian missiles that entered Jordanian airspace and were targeting the kingdom's territory, according to the official Petra news agency.

This comes amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran, as the United States has been striking Iranian areas for days, while Tehran responds by targeting what it says are American targets in regional countries.

On June 18, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding that included a cease-fire, and began negotiations mediated by Pakistan and Qatar to end the aggression launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on July 8 the end of the cease-fire due to renewed escalation, after Tehran, a day earlier, attacked three ships while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, claiming they did not adhere to the navigation route it had set, prompting Washington to launch attacks on sites inside Iran.

Washington supports the passage of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz on a different route than that set by Iran, which Tehran rejects, asserting that it targets any ship that does not coordinate with it before transiting the strategic waterway for global energy supplies.