U.S. military precision strikes on targets within Iran in the early hours of the 19th [Captured from U.S. Central Command footage]

The intensity of the armed conflict between the U.S. and Iran is escalating, with the U.S. expanding the scale of its retaliatory airstrikes following the death of American soldiers, and Iran launching counter-retaliatory attacks on two U.S. military bases in Kuwait.

U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) stated that it conducted airstrikes on Iran from 6:00 p.m. on the 18th (1:30 a.m. on the 19th, Iran local time; 7:00 a.m. on the 19th, KST) to 11:30 p.m. (7:00 a.m. on the 19th, Iran local time; 12:30 p.m. on the 19th, KST).

USCENTCOM reported that this nighttime operation, which lasted a total of 5 hours and 30 minutes, marked the eighth consecutive day of strikes and was carried out under the directive of U.S. Commander-in-Chief Donald Trump.

Central Command explained that the airstrikes successfully degraded Iran's military capabilities by striking coastal surveillance facilities, air defense systems, maritime assets, and stockpiles of missiles and drones.

They further noted that units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responsible for the attack on U.S. soldiers on the 17th were also targeted.

Central Command previously announced that on the 17th, Iran used ballistic missiles and drones to attack the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Azraq, Jordan, resulting in the death of two U.S. soldiers and the disappearance of one.

This marks the first time U.S. soldiers have been killed in this conflict since the ceasefire was established in early April.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28th, entered into a ceasefire in early April, and even signed the "Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)" in mid-June to engage in peace negotiations; however, the ceasefire effectively collapsed in early July.

U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that if Iran does not agree to U.S. conditions by this weekend, he will authorize strikes on infrastructure, including power plants and bridges.

While it is reported that the U.S. military has already begun destroying some civilian infrastructure such as bridges, Iran is responding aggressively.

Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, stated in a written position sent to state TV that day that the U.S. had repeatedly violated the previous MOU, declaring, "This proves once again that the signature of the U.S. President has no value or validity."

Referring to the U.S. as the "Great Evil," he claimed the resumption of the war was "another clear piece of evidence of American dishonesty, irrationality, unreliability, and meanness."

Observers suggest that the U.S. airstrikes have again focused on weakening Iran's military power used to attack civilian vessels, such as oil tankers, near the Strait of Hormuz.

According to damage reports from Iranian state media, the U.S. military primarily targeted ports in Hormozgan Province, which borders the Strait of Hormuz, during the strikes early on the 19th.

The port city of Sirik, located on the Strait of Hormuz, was attacked around 1:30 a.m. on the 19th, followed by an attack on the inland city of Khashabad at 2:10 a.m.

Sirik and Khashabad are small cities located approximately 100km southeast and 100km north of Bandar Abbas, respectively.

Additionally, at approximately 3:40 a.m., Qeshm Island—a key energy logistics hub at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz—was struck by at least six missiles, and residents around Bandar Abbas, a major port in southern Iran, heard explosions just before 4:00 a.m.

Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps missile launch [Provided by SEPAHNEWS.COM; AFP = Yonhap News File Photo]

Reuters, citing the semi-official Iranian Tasnim News Agency, reported that an area near Shadegan in Iran’s western Khuzestan Province was also struck by the U.S. military.

Shadegan is located approximately 80km from the Iran-Iraq border.

In response to the U.S. retaliatory strikes, Iran has also engaged in counter-retaliation.

According to Iranian state television, the Iranian military stated it carried out suicide drone attacks against U.S. military assets at two U.S. bases in Kuwait that day.

The targets identified by the Iranian side included U.S. ammunition depots at the Udairi base and Patriot radar systems and air surveillance radar at Ali Al Salem Air Base.

Kurdish militant groups in Iraq, often viewed as U.S. proxies in the Middle East, have also been drawn into the war.

According to the Associated Press, early on the 19th, a base belonging to the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) near Erbil in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq was hit by a drone attack, injuring eight personnel.

Erbil residents told the AP that they heard explosions as air defense systems were activated.

Erbil has been subjected to multiple drone attacks over the past four days.

While it has not been immediately confirmed who conducted the attack, there is a possibility it was carried out by Iran or by Iranian-backed Iraqi militant groups.

Iran has been wary of the possibility that Kurds might intervene if a ground war breaks out within Iran.

The Kurdistan region currently hosts U.S. troops, and members of armed groups opposed to the Islamic Republic of Iran, such as the PAK, are active in the area.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi visited Washington D.C. last week to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss bilateral cooperation, focusing on economic sectors.