President Donald Trump reinstated a naval blockade on Iran's ports on Wednesday, U.S. forces launched additional airstrikes early Wednesday and U.S. Central Command said American forces carried out an 11th consecutive night of strikes; the Pentagon identified a third U.S. service member believed killed in the Jordan attack as Sgt. Angel S. Rampersad, bringing the U.S. death toll in the war to 18, and Trump attended a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base for four service members.
The Pentagon said Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, N.Y., is believed to have been killed in action on July 17, 2026, during an enemy attack at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan and that her status has changed from "Duty Status-Whereabouts Unknown" to "believed to be deceased." The Pentagon said she was assigned to 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany.
Trump posted to his social media platform, "Heading to Dover Air Force Base to HONOR OUR HEROES!" and told reporters he was traveling to Dover "to honor our heroes." He called the dignified transfer ceremony "one of the hardest things to do as a president but it has to be done," said he would tell grieving families "we love you. We love your child," and defended the war by saying "all" of the fallen had "said very strongly" that "we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon." He also said a poll shows that "Americans aren't against" the war and early Wednesday again demanded Iran end its targeting of vessels, threatening its civilian infrastructure.
The four service members being flown from the Middle East to Dover were Rampersad, 28; Army Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton, 30, of Fayetteville, North Carolina; 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii; and Pfc. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas.
U.S. Central Command said the latest strikes targeted Iranian military operations centers, maritime capabilities, aircraft hangars, drone storage facilities and military logistics infrastructure to degrade Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian media reported explosions in seven provinces and said strikes included damage to an electrical installation near the Bushehr nuclear power plant, and Iran said it again struck an air base in eastern Jordan and hit the Sheikh Isa air base in Bahrain.
Oil prices jumped as the fighting continued, with Brent crude rising to more than $95 per barrel and U.S. crude topping $88 per barrel; the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline rose to $4.06, AAA said.
Iran's interior minister, Eskander Momeni, visited Pakistan for talks that could aim to revive a collapsed ceasefire between the United States and Iran, diplomats said, even as Tehran signaled it would consider negotiations only if its national interests are safeguarded and has said it does not trust the United States.
Iranian authorities have given differing casualty estimates: Iran's government said about 3,000 people in Iran have been killed in the war, while state-affiliated media cited a senior judicial official putting the toll at 3,375.
Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained sharply reduced, with MarineTraffic showing 13 ships crossing on Monday and nine on Tuesday, and analysts warned that Houthi declarations to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait have further heightened risks to global shipping and oil supplies.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers the cost of the war so far is $37.5 billion as he sought additional funding for continuing military operations.
Family members of the fallen attended the dignified transfer, where the bodies of their loved ones were moved in American flag-draped transfer cases from a plane into waiting vans. Uniformed service members marched the transfer cases past officials, including Trump, Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt; Sens. Thom Tillis and Chris Coons also attended. The president met privately with the families, the White House confirmed.
The Pentagon said Gonzales was killed Friday and Feehan was killed Saturday, and said Swinton was killed Sunday "during a controlled detonation" of an attack drone.
The Pentagon said Rampersad was "believed to have been killed" in Jordan, added that "the incident is under investigation," and said she is believed to have been the missing soldier who is presumed dead.
Hegseth faced questions from senators Tuesday about the cost and strategy of the war during a tense hearing on the Pentagon's budget request. "You have over a trillion dollars," Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said. "You're asking for one and a half trillion dollars. It's not a question of money. It's a question of leadership and understanding what it takes to actually win."
Trump has attended two prior dignified transfers since the war began in February, and Wednesday's event was his first since he declared on July 8 that the ceasefire was over. The hostilities had been paused after the two sides agreed to a peace plan that quickly fell apart.