CENTCOM said in a statement posted on X that the service members were killed on July 17 as US and partner forces “defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.”

Four American service members were medically evacuated to Jordanian hospitals but have since been discharged. Other personnel evaluated for minor injuries have returned to duty.

CENTCOM said it would withhold further details, including the identities of the fallen service members, until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified, “out of respect for the families.”

The attack took place at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, which US warplanes have used for operations against Iran, according to US officials.

Iran has repeatedly struck the base with ballistic missiles and drones, including an earlier attack this week that left US service members with minor injuries, two officials said.

The casualties mark a significant escalation in hostilities between Iran and US forces in the region, amid a wider exchange of strikes between Washington and Tehran following the collapse of a ceasefire agreement.

Separately, Iran announced it has suspended its commitments under the Pakistan-mediated Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States, accusing Washington of violating the agreement through continued military strikes.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said Tehran halted implementation of the accord after the US allegedly failed to honour its commitments, according to Fars News Agency.

“We have suspended our commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum,” he said, adding that Washington had “violated and suspended all its commitments under the framework” of the agreement. “We have also suspended our commitments; we are not implementing them and are focused on defending the country,” he said.

According to Al Jazeera, Gharibabadi said Washington’s continued military operations had “destroyed the spirit” of the agreement, making it impossible for Iran to continue implementing any of its provisions.

He noted that although Iran had repeatedly accused the United States of violating the agreement in recent months, this was the first time Tehran had formally announced that it would no longer implement any part of the Islamabad MoU.

With inputs from AFP