A U.S. service member was killed in northern Iraq on July 18 as a result of an Iranian attack, the U.S. military said.

The incident came a day after two U.S. service members were killed and another was reported missing following an attack on a U.S. military base in Jordan.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said the service member in Iraq was killed during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian attack drone. Another service member was injured.

The United States and Iran have now exchanged strikes for an eighth consecutive day, further escalating military tensions.

In recent days, both sides have accused each other of attacking critical infrastructure. Washington has reinstated its blockade of Iranian ports, while Tehran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and launched strikes against U.S. allies in the region. A ceasefire agreement between the two sides has effectively collapsed.

According to the U.S. military, the latest strikes were intended to “degrade Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz” and to “swiftly hold accountable” forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that Washington says were responsible for the attack in Jordan.

The death brings the number of U.S. service members killed since the start of the U.S.-Israel war on Iran to 17.

According to Iran’s Health Ministry, at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 injured in U.S. strikes across the country over the past three weeks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said Iran will pay a disproportionate price for every American service member killed by Iranian forces.

Trump made the statement in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“Every time Iran kills an American service member, it will pay a disproportionate price for that killing,” the U.S. president wrote. 

Trump said he had issued the directive to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, and all U.S. military commanders.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on July 19 called for military restraint after Iranian authorities said the United States had struck the construction site of a nuclear power plant in the country’s southwest. The agency said this in a statement posted on X.

“The IAEA is looking into reports of an overnight attack on the construction site of a planned nuclear power plant in Darkhovin, Iran. The facility is in the very early stages of construction and contained no nuclear material when last visited by the IAEA.

While the reported attack is not believed to pose any radiological risk, Director General Rafael Grossi reiterates his call for military restraint in the vicinity of all nuclear-related sites.

The IAEA has contacted Iran about the public reports and will provide further information as it becomes available,” the statement said.

Iran has received “certain proposals” from mediators aimed at reducing tensions, but details will be disclosed at a later stage, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.

“We have received proposals from mediators, but with your permission, I will not disclose the details at this stage. I can confirm that some ideas have been presented,” Baghaei told a news briefing, according to Iranian media.

Responding to reported U.S. threats to seize Iran’s Kharg Island, Baghaei said residents of the Iranian island were ready to give American troops a “warm welcome” should Washington launch a ground operation against Iran.

“I believe there are many people there waiting to give them a ‘warm welcome’,” he said.

The latest escalation between the United States and Iran began on July 8, when U.S. forces launched strikes on Iranian territory, saying they were responding to an attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

Later the same day, U.S. President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran over. Tehran responded by launching strikes on U.S. facilities across the Middle East, including in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has warned that there will be consequences after two employees of the French embassy in Tehran were briefly detained by Iranian security forces. Barrot announced the incident in a post on X.

According to the French foreign minister, the two embassy staff members were detained without explanation, questioned by Iranian authorities, and one of them was subjected to physical violence.

They were later allowed to return to the embassy. 

“I told Iran’s foreign minister that these extremely serious and unacceptable violations of the inviolability of our staff will not go without consequences,” Barrot wrote.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would be open to meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during ASEAN-related meetings in the Philippines.

“I’m not sure it’s been definitively arranged. But we’d be open to meeting with them,” Rubio told reporters when asked whether he was prepared to meet Lavrov or Wang on the sidelines of the ASEAN gatherings in Manila.

The U.S. State Department has said Rubio will visit Manila from July 19 to 23 to attend ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference events, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the ASEAN Regional Forum. He is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with senior officials from a number of Indo-Pacific countries.

Lavrov is also due to attend several ASEAN ministerial meetings in Manila.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has confirmed that Lavrov will participate in the events from July 21 to 23.

Thousands of students, parents, activists and political leaders marched towards India’s parliament in New Delhi, calling for reforms to the country’s education system, Reuters reported.

The demonstration was organised by the youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

Delhi Police said the march had not been authorised and attempted to disperse protesters using tear gas. The demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. 

The protests were triggered by the authorities’ decision to cancel the results of medical entrance examinations for more than one million candidates after examination papers were leaked, forcing many applicants to retake the test. 

The protests have gathered momentum, particularly since July 18, when Sonam Wangchuk, a leader of the movement who had been on a 21-day hunger strike, was forcibly taken to hospital. 

The youth movement has attracted millions of supporters across social media platforms.

More than 170,000 people have been affected by flooding triggered by heavy rainfall in India’s northeastern state of Assam, NDTV reported.

According to the broadcaster, the floods have impacted 12 districts, 30 administrative circles and 580 villages. 

The worst-hit areas are the districts of Sivasagar, Charaideo and Jorhat, where residential areas have been inundated and embankments and railway lines have been damaged. More than 10,000 hectares of agricultural land have also been flooded.

In the city of Guwahati, floodwaters entered homes, damaging furniture and household appliances. Many families have been unable to prepare food after their kitchens were submerged. 

The high water levels have also disrupted rail services, with several train routes cancelled, shortened or diverted. Rescue operations are under way, involving the Indian Army, the Assam Rifles and the National Disaster Response Force. Dozens of boats have been deployed to evacuate residents stranded by the floods.

The area affected by a major wildfire in central Spain has exceeded 26,000 hectares, according to Emiliano García-Page, President of the regional government of Castilla-La Mancha.

In a post on X, García-Page said the wildfire, which broke out on July 16 near the municipality of La Mierla, is the largest ever recorded in the region. 

He said a record number of firefighters and aircraft had been deployed to combat the blaze.

More than 1,000 residents have been evacuated from several communities as a precaution. No injuries have been reported. 

On July 9, a separate wildfire broke out in Spain’s autonomous community of Andalusia, killing 13 people, most of them foreign nationals.

Greece is experiencing its first heatwave of the season, with temperatures expected to exceed 40°C on July 20, Reuters reported.

Authorities have advised residents to stay indoors and avoid outdoor work between 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

They have also urged people to keep household waste indoors during those hours for public health reasons.

Air-conditioned public facilities have been opened to help people cope with the extreme heat, while a 24-hour emergency hotline has been made available to provide medical advice.

The fire service has also urged the public to avoid any activities that could spark wildfires.

 Although Greece had until now avoided the severe heatwave affecting Western Europe, the country has been battling daily wildfires fuelled by strong winds and dry conditions. Concerns have also been raised over water shortages following years of drought. Meteorologists expect the high temperatures to persist for the next three days.

 Earlier, European authorities reported that the record-breaking heatwave that swept across Western Europe in late June was associated with an estimated 10,000 excess deaths.