In a decisive response to a recent assault in Jordan that claimed the lives of two U.S. service members and left another unaccounted for, the United States has committed to launching a new wave of airstrikes against Iran. This striking development promises to heighten tensions as the forces gear up for action.

Issued shortly after 6 p.m., a statement from CENTCOM outlined the purpose behind the strikes: to severely impair Iran’s ability to threaten commercial routes through the critical Strait of Hormuz and to swiftly deliver retribution to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces responsible for the recent attacks on American personnel in Jordan.

The backdrop to this response unfolded just hours prior, as Iran launched an assault involving ballistic missiles and drones against the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base. The nighttime raid on Friday resulted in one U.S. service member missing, as confirmed by Central Command.

In the wake of the attack, four American soldiers required medical evacuation to Jordanian hospitals, where they received treatment and have since been discharged, according to a post from CENTCOM on X.

While the incident continues to unfold, CENTCOM remains sensitive to the affected families, opting to withhold further details, including the identities of the deceased, until 24 hours have passed following notification of next of kin.

President Trump told NewsNation that the soldiers’ deaths were a ‘very sad thing.’ He added: ‘We hate to see it happen. It’s in service to our country.’

The president also reiterated that his administration would ‘never allowing Iran to have a nuclear weapon.’ 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s sentiment in a statement on X, writing: ‘Godspeed, heroes. Their sacrifice only stiffens our resolve.’

The deaths were the 15th and 16th among US servicemembers since the war with Iran began in February, with more than 430 others wounded.

After news broke of the deaths, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, called the US’s actions in the region ‘criminal,’ referring to the country as the ‘Great Satan.’ 

‘The Great Satan – the criminal US – has now realized that the continuation of its trouble-free, domineering presence in the region is nothing but a naive fantacy,’ he wrote on his official X account. 

The attacks from Iran came amid a fresh blitz across the Middle East in recent days, after negotiations with the Trump administration broke down and a ceasefire ended. 

Friday marked the seventh straight night of strikes launched by the US against Iran, with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards retaliating with tit-for-tat attacks at US targets in Jordan, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Syria. 

Shortly before Friday’s attack on Jordan, Khamenei said that the US strikes on Iran would lead to ‘unforgettable lessons’ for the US, accusing President Trump of ‘seeking to escalate the conflict.’

Hours after the US service members’ deaths were announced on Saturday, Iranian state media said several IRGC missiles were fired at an unspecified vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.  

Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in February, issued the chilling threat through a spokesperson on state TV. 

The Iranian leader said Trump’s signature is now ‘worthless and invalid,’ after a tentative ceasefire agreement reached in April – and formally agreed upon last month – dramatically fell apart in recent days.

The remarks came hours after a negotiator said Tehran was suspending all of its commitments that were previously agreed upon with the US in June.

Khamenei also vowed to use Iran’s proxies in the Middle East, which he dubbed the ‘Axis of Resistance,’ to combat Trump’s attacks.

The Supreme Leader’s remarks were read by a spokesman on Iranian state TV as Khamenei has still not been seen in public since the war began, with reports indicating he was severely injured in the strikes that killed his father. 

Hours after the US CENTCOM announced the deaths of servicemembers, Israel said it took out a Hezbollah drone unit in southern Lebanon on Saturday. 

The strikes violate last month’s memorandum of understanding aimed at stopping military strikes in Lebanon. 

Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun and his wife arrived in Washington DC, on Saturday afternoon for continued negotiations, according to a statement from his office.

Aoun met with Lebanon’s Ambassador to the United States Nada Hardini Maalouf, and administrative staff. He will meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump during his visit. 

The Israeli military said it identified a Hezbollah terrorist cell operating drones outside the city of Nabatieh, and it ‘struck the terrorists in order to remove the threat posed to the IDF soldiers operating nearby.’

Continuous strikes this week have seen the US and Iran exchange attacks on infrastructure and military targets. 

The attacks have intensified the conflict’s focus on the Strait of Hormuz, an essential waterway bordering Iran that previously carried over a fifth of the world’s crude oil. 

The struggle over the Strait has seen energy prices skyrocket worldwide, with the fresh round of strikes now threatening civilian infrastructure in Iran including desalination plants for drinking water. 

CENTCOM said early Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes hit ‘surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.’

‘The U.S. has violated its commitments under the deal that was signed about a month ago and now Iran is ‘no longer implementing them,’ Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, told state TV.

There was no new word on mediation efforts.

Amid the recent blitz from US forces against Iran, Tehran’s energy ministry ordered citizens to turn off their air conditioning during peak hours as the country’s power grid came under strain.

The energy ministry said that the power restrictions were necessary ‘to help ensure a stable electricity supply in the southern provinces, which are currently facing extreme heat and attacks on electricity supply facilities.’

Temperatures in the capital were expected to hit triple digits Friday, with highs of 102F on Saturday and Sunday.

At a lively Fanatics Fest held in New York on Friday, former Golden State Warriors star and double NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant found himself in an unexpected and somewhat awkward spotlight.

Durant took the stage for a question-and-answer session alongside global sports icons, including Argentina’s cherished soccer squad led by none other than Lionel Messi, and NFL legend Tom Brady, previously of the New England Patriots fame.

Following an engaging exchange where Brady questioned Messi, Durant emerged next onto the stage, ready to join the esteemed lineup.

Sporting a slight smirk as he approached, Durant made his way behind the gathered Argentine players. After receiving the microphone from Brady, he greeted the prominent figures on stage. These included comedian Kevin Hart and Spain’s national soccer team coach, Luis de la Fuente.

Once Durant received the microphone, he said, “I got a question for [Emi Martínez] right here,” Durant said, leaving Martínez pointing at himself and appearing shocked.

Durant went on to say, “Yes, you,” while looking toward Martínez.

After Durant startled him, he asked, “What would it mean for your country and team to win back-to-back World Cups?”

The Q&A session between Argentina and Spain came days before they face off in the World Cup final on Sunday in New Jersey.

Argentina is looking to become the first team to win back-to-back tournaments since Brazil did it in 1958 in Sweden and in 1962 in Chile.

Spain, however, is looking to win its first World Cup under de la Fuente’s guidance as head coach, and it would be its first time winning the tournament since 2010.

Dear Jana,

My husband often expresses that he misses the version of me from before my ADHD diagnosis.

When we first crossed paths, I was undeniably spontaneous. A plan for a quiet drink could seamlessly transform into an all-nighter, with dawn greeting us before sleep. My intense passion extended to our intimacy, which he adored.

Initially, I thought these traits defined who I was. However, that changed last year when I received an ADHD diagnosis. My psychiatrist recommended Vyvanse, a decision which has since brought me a newfound serenity and mental clarity.

No longer do I seek to transform every evening into an adventure. I find peace in stillness, no longer stirred by restlessness, nor do I wake up burdened with regret over my previous night’s actions or words.

I really like who I am now.

My husband, however, doesn’t. He says I’ve lost my spark and that our relationship used to be much more exciting. He particularly misses how adventurous I was sexually, and lately he has started making comments about me becoming boring since going on medication.

I’ve tried explaining that the woman he misses was often acting on impulses she couldn’t control, but he talks about that time like it was the best version of me.

Now I feel guilty whenever I turn down a big night or don’t want sex to become some elaborate event. Part of me worries that he only fell in love with the chaos.

How do I make him understand that I haven’t disappeared? I’m happier than I’ve ever been, but I’m starting to wonder whether he actually wants me well.

Still Me, Just Calmer. 

Dear Still Me, Just Calmer,

Ah, yes… Vyvanse.

I’ve heard it referred to as ‘the divorce drug’ because some women swear that once the fog of undiagnosed ADHD lifts, they suddenly start looking at their lives, and their relationships, very differently.

In fact, I’ve had more than one girlfriend tell me that getting medicated made them realise they’d been surviving in chaos for years, and once life became quieter, so did their tolerance for unhappy marriages.

But it’s interesting that you’re experiencing the opposite effect.

When I read your letter, I found myself thinking, ‘Of course he misses that version of you.’

He got the adventure, while you carried the burden of feeling constantly overwhelmed. (And yes, undiagnosed ADHD sex really is a little… extra.) What you have is two people with completely different memories of the same relationship.

As someone who is also navigating an ADHD diagnosis, I understand what you mean when you describe your mind feeling quieter. It’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it, but there’s something incredibly comforting about no longer feeling like you have to wring every last drop out of every weekend.

But there’s another thing that could be at play here.

I wonder if this isn’t just about your ADHD. I wonder if you’re simply arriving at a stage of life where staying in with a takeaway and an early night genuinely sounds more appealing than waking up wondering where your wallet went.

It happens to everyone eventually – no one wants to stay in that Peter Pan, never-grow-up phase forever. Although, I’ve dated a few men still stuck there, so maybe your bloke’s got a few more years to go. 

I’d say two things have happened. First, you’re beautifully focused and clear-headed – well done. As a fellow ADHD’er, I know how glorious it feels when things finally click. 

And second, you’re simply growing up. My party lifestyle has slowed down too lately – and that’s more than OK. In fact, it can be enjoyable. Who doesn’t love coming home, getting into their pyjamas and binge-watching an entire series in one go? It can be just as fun as a big night out – and a lot cheaper and less painful the next day. 

I’d be asking one very simple question: what does your husband actually miss?

If he’s mourning the fact you no longer want to stumble home at sunrise every weekend, I’d gently suggest that time probably would’ve caught up with both of you eventually. No one stays 25 forever.

If what he really misses is feeling desired or swept up in the excitement you once shared, that’s a different – and much easier – conversation to have. Rekindling desire just takes a bit more intention than it did in the early days.

Relationships don’t stay frozen in time – that’s a good thing. Couples who go the distance are usually the ones who stay curious about each other as life changes, rather than longing to rewind to when they first met.

So, I’d sit him down and ask what a happy future together looks like. If he can embrace who you are now, there’s every chance you’ll find a new rhythm together.

But if he’s still waiting for the old version of you to come back, he’ll be waiting a very long time.

Dear Jana,

The first time my boyfriend mentioned it, I honestly thought he was joking. We’d had an argument a few days earlier, and he suddenly said, ‘Hang on, I’ve got the recording.’

I laughed it off, but he wasn’t kidding. He opened his voice app – and there was a recording of our entire fight. 

I lost it at him because it’s such an invasion of privacy and I’m pretty sure it’s illegal. He told me that he’d been recording our arguments on his phone for months. 

Apparently, he likes listening back to them afterwards because he thinks it helps him work out who was right. He also admitted he sometimes plays them to his therapist so they can go through the conversation together.

But not once did he ask if I was OK with being recorded.

Now every disagreement feels completely different. Instead of saying what’s on my mind, I find myself wondering whether it’s being saved somewhere on his phone to be replayed in six months’ time. 

He genuinely doesn’t understand why I’m upset. As far as he’s concerned, he’s not sending them to friends or posting them online. He says they’re private and for self-improvement, and, if anything, they make him a better partner.

Am I making too much of this, or would you feel violated too?

On the Record

Dear On the Record,

Dump that man.

I’m kidding… mostly.

Look, I know plenty of people who are determined to prove they’re right during an argument. Even I’ve been guilty of whipping out an old text message or two.

But secretly recording your partner so you can replay the argument later is a level of commitment to being right that I’ve never encountered.

To be blunt, it’s odd behaviour.

Legally speaking, secretly recording private conversations can be unlawful, so I’d promptly remind him of that.

However, I’d be focusing more on your partner’s fixation with always being right.

I’ve dated men who refused to admit they were wrong – even when caught red-handed. One tried to convince me I’d imagined an entire conversation from the day before. But even he never thought to start a podcast called ‘Jana’s Greatest Mistakes’.

I would want to know why he’s carrying every disagreement forward instead of letting it go. Most couples have a blow-up, sulk for a bit, apologise (usually after someone gets hungry or horny) and then move on. The fact your boyfriend seems to be collecting evidence for a trial is, like I said before, odd.

So that’s the conversation I’d be having. OK, maybe don’t call him ‘odd’, but tell him the recordings make you feel uncomfortable and have to stop.

Not because you’re trying to win this particular argument or take away some advantage he thinks he has, but because you don’t want to spend the rest of your relationship wondering whether every vulnerable moment is ending up in his voice notes.

If he wants to unpack an argument with his therapist afterwards, fine. That’s healthy. Therapists have heard one-sided versions of relationship fights since the beginning of time. They’ll cope. 

I’d tell him to stop turning your arguments into cross-examinations. Relationships are emotional – you’re allowed to get your words tangled or say something silly without fearing it’ll be used against you months later.

That’s just being human. Being with someone obsessed with always being right will wear you down, until one day you just call it quits. Ask him if he’s willing to risk that. 

Dear Jana,

I think my fiancé has disappeared down the biohacking rabbit hole.

It all seemed to start around his 50th birthday. One minute he was joking about getting older, the next he was determined to outlive us all.

It started innocently enough. A few supplements here, an ice bath there. I thought it was great that he was taking an interest in his health.

Fast forward a year and I feel like I’m engaged to a human podcast.

Every morning starts with a lecture about sleep scores or fasting. We can’t book a restaurant without him asking what oil they cook with because he’s become convinced seed oils are poisoning us all. 

Last week he made the waiter check the ingredients in the salad dressing while I quietly considered crawling under the table.

He’s forever reading the back of food packets, listening to longevity gurus and trying to convince me that the key to living until 100 is giving up everything that makes life enjoyable.

I miss the man who’d suggest fish and chips on the beach without needing to know whether the chips were cooked in beef tallow.

Am I being unsupportive, or is there a point where ‘optimising your health’ starts getting in the way of actually enjoying your life?

Engaged to a Biohacker.

Dear Engaged to a Biohacker,

Oh girl, I feel for you!

Here’s what I don’t get: with all this talk about living longer, do these health nuts forget you could get hit by a bus tomorrow – and those ice baths and bland, dressing-free salads would be for nothing? 

Sure, I get wanting to give yourself a shot at a long life, but for every marathon, I see nothing wrong with having a beer waiting at the finish line. So trust me, I’m with you.  

But all that aside, let’s look at what’s really going on here – because I don’t think this is actually about seed oils. Turning 50 can make people feel their own clock ticking for the first time, and some men respond by buying a motorbike or having an affair with their secretary.

So, if anything, be glad yours is handling it in a much milder – if slightly boring – way, trying to outsmart mortality one fasting window at a time. If you had to sum it up in one word, it’s fear. And that usually fades once he’s proven to himself he’s still got a few good decades left. 

That said, you’re allowed to have limits, and it sounds like he’s reached yours.

I suggest telling him exactly how you feel. He may have absolutely no idea that this health kick has become all-consuming. From his perspective, he’s simply looking after himself, and probably hasn’t given thought to how it’s affecting others around him. Specifically, you and waiters! 

So rather than asking him to give up the cold plunges or the supplements, ask him to leave them at home every now and then. Tell him, for at least one night a week he has to give the ranting a rest.

And if all else fails, perhaps remind him of billionaire biohacker Bryan Johnson.

The poor bloke has spent years treating his body like a science experiment in the hope of living forever, only to recently reveal he’d been diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis – a condition where the immune system attacks the stomach lining.

I certainly wouldn’t wish that on anyone, but it does prove one thing: you can do absolutely everything ‘right’ and life still has a funny way of keeping us humble. So loosen up a little.

In a solemn announcement this Saturday, the U.S. military confirmed the tragic loss of two American troops, marking the first U.S. casualties from direct Iranian attacks since hostilities commenced. The incident, which also resulted in a missing soldier, occurred during a strike on a military base in Jordan.

The attack took place on Friday, amidst efforts by American and allied military units to repel a barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, as per the official statement. While four service members were swiftly transported to hospitals in Jordan for medical treatment and subsequently released, the identities of the deceased have not been disclosed.

This grim update now brings the toll to 16 American troops killed and over 430 injured since the onset of conflict.

Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader issued a stark warning about the consequences of ongoing U.S. military actions, suggesting “unforgettable lessons” could follow if the attacks persist against the Islamic Republic.

These comments, which were broadcast via state television and attributed to the otherwise unseen Mojtaba Khamenei since the fighting began, labeled President Donald Trump’s signature as “worthless and invalid.” This statement surfaced shortly after an Iranian negotiator declared the suspension of Tehran’s commitments to an interim agreement that had been reached about a month prior.

Tehran’s declarations snapped another fragile thread as the war shows no end in sight. The deal was aimed at permanently ending the fighting. Now Khamenei warns of “lessons” not only from Iran but its armed proxies in the region, calling them the “Axis of Resistance.”

The United States and Iran have been exchanging strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets. Their battle over the Strait of Hormuz has intensified in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the essential waterway that previously carried a fifth of the world’s crude oil. The strikes threaten civilians and services to them, including desalination plants for drinking water, while the global economy again is on alert.

The U.S. Central Command said early Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”

The U.S. has violated its commitments under the deal that was signed about a month ago and now Iran is “no longer implementing them,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, told state TV.

There was no new word on mediation efforts.

Kuwait sees the most striking damage

The most significant damage from Iranian strikes on Saturday occurred in Kuwait, where a water desalination plant and an oil facility were hit, according to the Kuwait authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Both declined to provide locations.

The strikes injured several people at the oil facility and caused a fire at the desalination plant, forcing several power generation units offline. It was the second attack against a desalination plant in two days in the tiny desert nation that depends on desalination for 90% of its drinking water.

Several firefighters and a worker were injured while battling two other blazes sparked by Iranian strikes, according to the Kuwait Fire Force. Kuwait briefly closed its airspace due to missile threats, and Kuwait Airways said it was rescheduling most flights to and from the capital.

Meanwhile, Iraq said it shot down attack drones over the city of Irbil. Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency said the kingdom’s air defense systems had downed Iranian missiles, while air sirens sounded multiple times in Bahrain throughout the day and in Saudi Arabia in the morning, according to their governments.

The secretary general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, accused Iran of war crimes for strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.

US strikes hit infrastructure in Iran

U.S. airstrikes hit an electricity and desalination plant in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, Iranian state TV reported. IRNA said the Bonji desalination plant was destroyed, cutting off water supplies to about 10,000 people, and that a desalination plant on strategic Qeshm Island inside the strait was damaged.

Overnight strikes damaged two tunnels and a bridge, disrupting one of the main highways toward Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port that sits near the narrowest part of the strait, according to Iran’s state-run news agency. IRNA said three bridges were hit Saturday, including one on a route to Bandar Abbas.

Iran acknowledged “attacks on power infrastructure” during the U.S. airstrikes for the first time Friday when its Energy Ministry issued a call for people to use less power in southern provinces “experiencing extreme heat.” It did not specify what was hit.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stepped up its warning that countries hosting U.S. forces should be “prepared to receive a corresponding response,” according to Iran’s state TV.

Iranian authorities said at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in U.S. strikes in the past three weeks, including eight killed in a strike on a bridge Friday.

U.S. officials acknowledged 13 additional U.S. service members – 10 Army soldiers and three Navy sailors – had been injured since Monday, but offered no details.

Iran and US vie for Strait of Hormuz

Iran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic after the war started with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. That sent the price of oil soaring and has given Tehran significant leverage in negotiations.

Iran has said the strait must be under its sole control and that vessels should pay fees to Tehran, even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway. It fired on ships on recent days. Crossings through the strait fell to a three-week low, according to an international shipping tracker.

Trump has resumed threats to target power stations and bridges to try to compel Iran to loosen its hold. The U.S. in the past week reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to halt its shipments of crude oil.

A growing amount of the region’s energy is being shipped through pipelines, but not nearly enough to offset the decline in shipping.

Before the war began, the U.S. had been in talks with Iran over its nuclear program. Trump now faces political pressure to end the war and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against.

___

Ezzidin reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Stella Martany in Irbil, Iraq; and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

An intense street clash in New York City’s East Village, captured on camera, erupted between a skateboarder and a Mercedes driver, allegedly over a coveted parking spot, according to police sources who spoke with The Post.

Witnesses reported that the skateboarder, along with a companion, was holding onto the valuable spot on St. Marks Place, near Second Avenue, at approximately 3:50 p.m. on Tuesday, while awaiting another vehicle. The situation intensified when a driver attempted to claim the space, the sources revealed.

In a dramatic turn, the skateboarder forcefully struck the luxury SUV’s side window with his board, subsequently hurling it at the vehicle. A video of the incident, which rapidly circulated on social media platform X, captured the entire sequence.

The 34-year-old driver, whose identity remains undisclosed, exited his Mercedes in a fit of rage, pursuing the skateboarder. The altercation intensified as the driver managed to seize the board and attempted to retaliate in front of Mamoun’s Falafel, as shown in the recording.

However, the skater quickly regained control of the board, using it to strike the driver on the head before engaging in a physical struggle that culminated with the driver in a standing chokehold, as depicted in the viral footage.

An NYPD spokesman confirmed that the driver was attempting to park in the spot. The video also shows that the SUV’s front windshield was smashed during the fracas.

The skateboarder zoomed off and the driver was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, cops said.

There were no arrests as of Saturday afternoon as cops were still hunting for the skateboarder.