Ankara / Anatolia

US President Donald Trump announced the killing of 18 American soldiers during the war between his country and Israel against Iran.

This came in a post on his social media account on Tuesday, in which he said that 'the military conflict with Iran: 4 months and 18 dead'.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) had announced the killing of two American soldiers and the loss of a third on Friday in Jordan, while repelling Iranian attacks with ballistic missiles and drones.

The US Army also announced on Sunday the killing of one of its soldiers and the injury of another with minor wounds during the explosion of ammunition from an Iranian drone in northern Iraq.

For days, the United States has been launching successive waves of strikes on sites inside Iran, while Tehran responds with attacks on bases, military installations, and sites it says are linked to Washington in regional countries, including areas in northern Iraq.

The escalation comes despite Washington and Tehran signing, last June, a memorandum of understanding that included a cessation of fighting that began on February 28 and the launch of negotiations to reach a broader agreement.

But Trump announced on July 8 the end of the ceasefire, following attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz that Washington accused Tehran of being behind, prompting the United States to resume its strikes inside Iran amid escalating Iranian responses in the region.

Washington demands that Tehran stop attacking ships and ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran insists on subjecting the passage of ships to a mechanism it regulates through the strategic corridor, exacerbating fears of disruption to oil and gas exports from the region.

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