Correction, October 12, 2026: Correction: An earlier version of this article said CENTCOM launched a second same-day wave of strikes on Iran on July 20, making it the second two-wave day in five days, and quoted CENTCOM’s 3 p.m. ET “second wave” announcement as the July 20 post. That announcement was made on July 15, and no second wave on July 20 has been confirmed. The earlier version also gave the US death toll as 17 “confirmed by CENTCOM” and dated the deaths in Jordan to July 18; Reuters reported 16 deaths as of July 18, with the two deaths in Jordan on July 17. It also listed eight Iranian cities struck on the ninth night, said the IRGC’s 21st wave hit al-Azraq rather than Aqaba, and included munitions figures, quotes and claims, including an Iranian rejection of a Qatar-brokered ceasefire, that could not be traced to a source. The headline and article have been corrected and those passages removed.
WASHINGTON — CENTCOM struck Iran for a ninth consecutive night in strikes that ran overnight into July 20, five days after the command broke its nightly cadence on July 15 with a second wave of strikes announced at 3 p.m. ET, according to a CENTCOM post on X. No second same-day wave on July 20 has been confirmed.
The IRGC kept up its own strikes: on July 20 it announced the 21st wave of Operation Nasr-2, claiming that ballistic missiles hit US aircraft at Aqaba Airport in Jordan, according to Anadolu. Sixteen US service members had been killed in the conflict as of July 18, according to Reuters.
Table of Contents
The Second Wave
CENTCOM posted on X at 3 p.m. ET on July 15: “U.S. forces launched operations for a second wave of strikes today against Iran.” Announcing the ninth night of strikes, CENTCOM said “the strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels,” according to Israel National News.
President Trump addressed the campaign after attending the World Cup final. “We hit them very hard again tonight,” he said, adding that the strikes were carried out “in honor of” what he called “probably three great patriots,” according to Polskie Radio. “Iran has been very, very badly damaged,” Trump said. “They’ve lost everything, almost, militarily,” according to Israel National News.
What Happened on July 15?
On July 15, CENTCOM struck Iran in two waves on the same day. The first round was a 90-minute daylight strike on Greater Tunb Island that CENTCOM said it completed at 7:30 a.m. ET, according to ANI. The second wave followed at 3:00 p.m. ET that same afternoon.
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Apart from the two-wave day on July 15, the renewed campaign had been run largely as nightly strikes, reaching its ninth consecutive night by July 20. That nightly cadence gave Iranian commanders a predictable window to plan around, to cycle air defences, to move mobile launchers, to repair communications nodes damaged in the previous strike. A second daily wave eliminates that recovery period, which erodes planning margins for counter-operations already running on degraded infrastructure after nine consecutive nights of strikes against command centres and air defence sites.
Night Nine: What CENTCOM Targeted
CENTCOM said its ninth consecutive night of strikes targeted military command centres, air defence and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks, according to Polskie Radio. Iranian media reported US strikes in Tabriz, and the Tasnim news agency reported explosions in Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini, according to Israel National News.
The reported locations — from Tabriz in Iran’s northwest to the Persian Gulf ports of Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini — indicate CENTCOM is maintaining pressure across a wide area rather than concentrating on a single theatre.
Separately, Kuwait’s desalination infrastructure was struck again, this time by Iran rather than the US: Iranian strikes hit Kuwaiti power and desalination plants on July 16 and 17, according to Khaleej Times.
Two US service members were killed in Jordan on July 17, bringing US deaths in the war to 16, according to Reuters. CENTCOM said on July 19 that another service member had been killed in northern Iraq while detonating unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone, according to Polskie Radio.
How Many Waves Is the IRGC Running?
The IRGC announced the 21st wave of Operation Nasr-2 on July 20, claiming that ballistic missiles struck Aqaba Airport in Jordan and caused heavy damage to several US C-17 transport and P-8 aircraft, according to Anadolu. The IRGC also claimed the attack was carried out with intelligence provided by people in Jordan. Both are IRGC claims.
Earlier, on July 18, the IRGC had claimed attacks on Al Azraq in Jordan and on a radar facility at Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait, according to Reuters.
Both sides are now running multi-wave operation sequences — CENTCOM with its confirmed two-wave day on July 15 and the IRGC with designated operations across at least four countries hosting US bases, continuing the targeting pattern visible since Wave Nineteen.
The numbered, designated wave structure suggests pre-planned phase sequencing rather than the immediate reactive salvos of the campaign’s opening.
What Does a Faster Tempo Cost in Missiles?
The accelerated tempo raises a sustainability question: a two-wave day burns through munitions faster than a single nightly strike.
The Patriot interceptor situation is the most consequential for the Gulf, because the same system that Saudi Arabia depends on to defend its own cities draws from the same production line.
The question of what defends the Gulf when interceptor stocks run low remains open.
Where Diplomacy Stands as Both Sides Strike
The interim US-Iran agreement reached in June had fallen apart by mid-July, according to Reuters, and Qatar’s mediation effort now runs alongside both sides’ strike campaigns.
Iran said on July 12 that it had again closed Hormuz, and the Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi vessels on July 20, putting both of Saudi Arabia’s sea routes under threat. The tempo acceleration on both sides is occurring while the waterway that carries the region’s commerce remains under Iran’s declared closure.
The Houthi blockade declaration followed a Saudi strike on Sanaa International Airport’s runway on July 13, after which the Houthis fired missiles and drones at Abha airport.
Background and Context
The renewed US air campaign against Iran followed the collapse of the June ceasefire: after three ships, including the Saudi-flagged Wedyan, were hit near Hormuz, CENTCOM struck more than 80 targets in southern Iran and Trump said on July 8 that the ceasefire was “over.” CENTCOM then moved to nightly strikes, and on July 15 it struck in two waves in a single day.
On July 18, two people briefed told Reuters that an Iranian missile attack, the first on Saudi Arabia in more than three months, had triggered early-warning alerts in Al-Kharj and Yanbu.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the two-wave tempo affect Saudi Arabia specifically?
The compressed US strike tempo forces the IRGC to distribute its retaliatory capacity across more response windows, but any counter-strike against Saudi territory draws down the kingdom’s own defensive reserves. Faster CENTCOM operations mean faster IRGC responses, and Prince Sultan Air Base sits under a defensive shield that gets thinner with every salvo.
