U.S. forces launch new wave of strikes against Iran--China E

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. forces on Saturday launched a new round of strikes against Iran at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

"The strikes are designed to further degrade Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces who launched attacks against American service members in Jordan last night," according to the command.

Early on Saturday, the command said that two U.S. service members were killed and one remains missing after a strike on a base in Jordan on Friday.

The deaths bring the total number of U.S. military personnel killed to 16 since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.