United News of Bangladesh

Two more US service members have been killed in the conflict with Iran, raising the total number of American military deaths to 16, the US military said on Saturday. The latest casualties occurred in Jordan, where US forces were defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, according to US Central Command. The military also said one service member remains missing following the attack. Officials did not release the identities of the deceased, saying their names would be withheld until at least 24 hours after their families had been notified. The rising death toll highlights the dangers faced by US forces across the Middle East, even without large numbers of ground troops. American military personnel stationed in the region remain vulnerable to missile and drone attacks as tensions with Iran continue to escalate. President Donald Trump has said the military campaign is aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. As of Saturday afternoon, he had not publicly commented on the latest deaths. The White House instead referred reporters to the statement issued by US Central Command. The first American casualties occurred shortly after the war began on Feb. 28, when an Iranian drone strike on a civilian port in Kuwait killed six US soldiers from an Iowa-based supply and logistics unit. A seventh soldier later died from injuries suffered during an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 1. Later in March, six more US service members were killed when a KC-135 aerial refuelling aircraft supporting military operations against Iran crashed in Iraq. US Central Command said the aircraft was flying in friendly airspace when an unspecified incident involving another aircraft occurred. Earlier this week, the US military also confirmed the death of a Navy pilot following a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. The Navy said the July 1 incident was an emergency landing and found no evidence that hostile action caused the crash. Three other sailors aboard the helicopter were rescued. The conflict has also claimed many lives beyond the US military. Iranian authorities say US airstrikes over the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and injured more than 500 others. Among the latest casualties were eight people killed in a strike on a bridge on Friday. The war has also resulted in deaths among merchant ship workers, foreign nationals and civilians in several countries across the region, including Gulf states, Israel and Lebanon.

  The United States and Iran have again traded strikes after a week in which U.S. President Donald Trump mused that fragile negotiations between them might be “over.” The countries are now nearly halfway through the 60-day period that began with their signing of an interim deal aimed at permanently ending the war. At stake are the lives of Iranians and others throughout the region, including Israel and Lebanon, along with foreign residents of Gulf nations, U.S. military personnel stationed in multiple countries and thousands of mariners on ships still hoping to exit the Strait of Hormuz. The strait between Iran and Oman, considered an international waterway before the war, has become one of Tehran’s strongest pressure points in talks. Iran insists it alone now controls the strait. Here’s a brief timeline of the war and efforts to end it: Feb. 28 Israel and the U.S. attack Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials, sparking the war. Iran quickly responds with strikes against Israel and across the Gulf region and asserts control over the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and natural gas supplies from the Gulf. March 2 The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon enters the war by firing rockets at Israel. Israel retaliates, leading to an invasion that will occupy large swaths of southern Lebanon. March 8 Iran names one of Khamenei’s sons, Mojtaba, as the new supreme leader. He still has not been seen in public and is believed to be in hiding after reportedly being hurt in the war’s opening strikes.  

Most Asian stock markets closed higher on Friday, supported by gains in technology shares, while oil prices declined as investors kept a close watch on the latest developments in the Iran war. U.S. stock futures were mixed. Market sentiment remained cautious after tensions between Iran and the United States intensified this week. President Donald Trump declared that the Iran war ceasefire agreement was "over," while both countries continued exchanging attacks. South Korea's Kospi index climbed 2.5% to 7,475.94, recovering part of the losses recorded earlier this week. However, shares of memory chipmaker SK Hynix slipped 0.3% in Seoul ahead of its Nasdaq debut in New York later on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 1.2% to close at 68,557.73. SoftBank Group, a major investor in OpenAI, surged 10.7%, while chip equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron rose 2.7%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.5% to 24,156.29. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index erased early gains and ended 1% lower at 3,996.16. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.5% to 8,806.00, while India's Sensex rose 1%. Oil prices moved lower after fluctuating sharply, as concerns persisted over global oil supplies due to the limited number of vessels able to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important energy shipping routes. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 0.8% to $75.66 a barrel, compared with around $72 before the war began in late February. U.S. benchmark crude dropped 0.9% to $71.47 a barrel. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 0.8% on Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.3% to 26,206.89. Technology stocks, especially semiconductor companies, led the gains. Micron Technology jumped 4.5% after announcing plans to expand its U.S. investments, citing strong demand for memory chips driven by artificial intelligence. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rose 5.7%, while Marvell Technology gained 5% and ON Semiconductor added 4.4%. In currency trading early Friday, the U.S. dollar fell to 161.70 Japanese yen from 162.37 yen, while the euro edged up to $1.1439 from $1.1430. The Japanese yen strengthened after Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the government would encourage major pension funds to invest more in domestic assets denominated in yen.

Asian stock markets traded mixed on Tuesday as investor caution returned amid uncertainty over efforts to end the war in Iran, cooling recent strong gains across the region. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.9% in early trading to 71,681.29, while analysts said the market was taking a breather after a strong rally. “We’ve had eight days of strong markets. The market was up about 12.5%, and now it has cooled off a little bit,” said Neil Newman, managing director and head of strategy at Astris Advisory Japan. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up less than 0.1% to 8,822.10, while South Korea’s Kospi dropped sharply by 2.8% to 8,863.52. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.4% to 23,678.22, and China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.2% to 4,170.58. On Wall Street, U.S. stocks closed mixed on Monday as oil prices eased and major technology shares fell. The S&P 500 declined 0.4%, pulling 1.8% below its recent record high after a strong run of gains in recent weeks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 148 points, or 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3%, dragged down by weakness in major tech stocks. Oil prices eased after weekend discussions between the United States and Iran over the ongoing conflict. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said the talks had created a “good foundation for a successful final deal.” Any resolution to the conflict could reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil shipments. Iran had claimed it closed the strait, but U.S. Central Command disputed the claim. In early trading Tuesday, U.S. crude oil rose 35 cents to $74.21 per barrel, while Brent crude added 23 cents to $78.13. Bond yields also moved higher, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rising to 4.50% from 4.46%, as markets speculated that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates to contain inflation driven by higher energy costs. Economists expect upcoming U.S. inflation data to show consumer prices rising to 4.1% in May, up from 3.8% in April. In corporate trading, shares linked to SpaceX fell 16.4% to $154.60, marking a third straight decline after a recent surge following its stock market debut. Major tech stocks also weighed on the S&P 500, including Alphabet, Amazon and Broadcom, which each dropped between 4% and 5%. Overall, the S&P 500 lost 27.79 points to close at 7,472.79. The Dow gained 148.01 points to 51,712.71, while the Nasdaq fell 351.33 points to 26,166.60. In currency markets, the U.S. dollar edged slightly higher to 161.60 Japanese yen, while the euro traded at $1.1427.

US President Donald Trump said the proposed agreement with Iran remains unfinished and warned that military action could resume if Tehran fails to comply with its commitments. Speaking during a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on the sidelines of the G7 summit on Wednesday, Trump stressed that Washington retained the option of returning to military operations if the agreement proves unsatisfactory. He also dismissed reports suggesting the United States would invest in Iran or support a reconstruction fund for Tehran as part of a broader settlement. Earlier in the summit, Trump reiterated that Iran would not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon under any future agreement. On regional security issues, the US president criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the ongoing conflict in Lebanon, saying Israel needed to act more responsibly. During a joint appearance with the Emir of Qatar, Trump said the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group had continued for too long and was causing excessive loss of life. His remarks came as Israel and Hezbollah continued exchanging attacks despite the US-Iran agreement announced on Sunday night. Turning to the war in Ukraine, Trump said he held a productive meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and renewed his call for Russia to reach a peace agreement. He also indicated that additional sanctions targeting Russian oil exports could be imposed in the near future if efforts to end the conflict fail to progress. The comments came as G7 leaders wrapped up discussions in France, with global security issues, including Iran, Ukraine and the Middle East, dominating the summit agenda. Source: BBC

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that any agreement aimed at ending the conflict between Iran and the United States must include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, a condition that Israel has already rejected, casting uncertainty over the prospects of a lasting settlement. Speaking on Tuesday, Araghchi argued that the war could not be considered fully over while Israeli troops remained in territories occupied during the conflict. “Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end,” he said. The proposed agreement, brokered primarily by Pakistan, has not been publicly released, and differing interpretations by officials from various sides have highlighted unresolved issues. Although Israel is not a direct party to the US-Iran negotiations, it has been deeply involved in the wider conflict after joining US strikes against Iran in late February and continuing military operations against the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon. Pakistan, which has played a key mediating role, previously indicated that the agreement would bring an end to military operations across all fronts, including Lebanon. However, Araghchi’s insistence on an Israeli withdrawal introduces a new point of contention. A US official familiar with the negotiations has said the agreement does not require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also reiterated on Monday that Israeli forces would remain in Lebanon “as long as necessary.” The disagreement highlights the fragile nature of the proposed settlement ahead of a planned signing ceremony in Geneva on Friday. According to US and Pakistani officials, the framework agreement would involve the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of blockades affecting Iranian ports. It would also initiate a 60-day negotiation process focused on Iran’s nuclear programme and the possible easing of sanctions. The deal reportedly includes provisions for the release of frozen Iranian assets and the establishment of a potential $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran, contingent on Tehran meeting agreed conditions. However, US President Donald Trump later said Washington would not directly invest funds in Iran. Regional officials familiar with the negotiations told media outlets that Iran had pushed in the final stages to include Lebanon in the agreement. They said Tehran seeks the withdrawal of Israeli forces from nearly all occupied Lebanese territory, except for a limited number of border positions. The officials also noted that the release of frozen Iranian funds would depend on Iran’s implementation of the agreement. Gulf Arab countries are also expected to provide substantial financial support to Iran’s economy under the broader framework. Another unresolved issue concerns Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The agreement reportedly envisages discussions on reducing or removing the stockpile, although Iranian hardliners remain opposed to relinquishing it. Questions also remain over how compliance with any future nuclear arrangements would be verified and how highly enriched uranium stored at damaged nuclear facilities would be handled. The proposed deal comes as leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations gather in France, where the Middle East conflict and its economic repercussions are expected to feature prominently in discussions. European leaders have welcomed the diplomatic progress while stressing the need for rapid implementation of any agreement to restore stability and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies. Trump acknowledged ongoing concerns about Israel’s military operations in Lebanon, saying prolonged fighting could undermine broader diplomatic efforts. “It just goes on forever,” he said. “And when that happens, it throws a negative light on the big deal. And that’s the deal with Iran.”

Momentum for a deal to end the Iran war appeared to grow Saturday as key mediator Pakistan said an agreement was closer than “ever before” and Iran made some of its most optimistic statements yet. U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media the deal was “scheduled to get signed tomorrow,” and that the Strait of Hormuz would open immediately. Iran foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei, however, said “although it will not happen tomorrow, the possibility that it could take place in the coming days cannot be ruled out." Each side was expected to sign electronically. Meanwhile, Trump was expected to discuss demining the Strait of Hormuz during the Group of Seven summit that starts Monday. And Iran’s state-run television said funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in the war's opening attack, will take place in July. A senior U.S. official, who briefed journalists on condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House, said Trump planned to meet on the G7 sidelines with the leaders of Egypt, Qatar and United Arab Emirates to discuss efforts to wind down the war. G7 members Britain and France have expressed interest in assisting with demining once the conflict is paused. It was not clear how many mines are in the strait that Iran has effectively controlled since shortly after the war began, virtually shutting down oil and natural gas shipments from the Persian Gulf. The U.S. has blockaded Iranian ports in response. A tenuous ceasefire has been in place since April 7. Pakistan says a deal to end the war is imminent Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a deal aimed at ending the war was expected to be finalized within 24 hours. Pakistan's foreign ministry said the electronic signing ceremony was scheduled for Sunday, but did not provide details. Sharif told his Qatari counterpart “a peace deal was ready for signatures by the relevant parties very shortly,” another statement said. Iran signaled optimism but indicated more time was needed. Baghaei said in a statement carried by state TV that "the likelihood of finalizing the memorandum of understanding in the coming days is high.” Iran has long expressed wariness in negotiations, pointing out that previous talks with the U.S. last year and early this year ended with attacks by the U.S. and Israel. Baghaei said the memorandum under discussion was focused on ending the war and "at this stage, it has been decided that there will be no discussion of the nuclear issue.” Iran's nuclear program and highly enriched uranium have long been at the center of tensions with the U.S. and Israel and an international source of concern. Trump on social media asserted that “when all is calm,” the U.S. would go in and “downblend and destroy” the enriched uranium in Iran or in the U.S. The apparent breakthrough came after Iran exchanged fire with the U.S. and Israel earlier in the week, threatening to rupture the ceasefire and push the Middle East back into full-scale war. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X on Friday that an agreement “has never been closer.” Trump, who has asserted multiple times in recent weeks the countries were on the cusp of a deal, shared Araghchi’s post on social media. Trump on Thursday claimed significant progress in negotiations, hours after he threatened to seize Iran’s oil industry. Khamenei to be buried at the holiest of Shiite shrines The funeral, burial and farewell events for Khamenei will occur between July 4 and 9 during Muharram, a traditional period of mourning in the Shiite Muslim calendar. Khamenei is succeeded by his son, Mojtaba, who is considered less compromising and has not been seen publicly since the war began. Funeral ceremonies are expected to begin in Tehran and move to Qom, a stronghold of many senior Shiite clerics, then to Mashhad, Khamenei's birthplace. He’ll be buried there at the Imam Reza Shrine, considered the holiest place among Shiite devotees. Khamenei remolded the Islamic Republic following the death in 1989 of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the fiery, charismatic ideologue who led the overthrow of the shah and installed rule by Shiite Muslim clerics. Khamenei ruled far longer than Khomeini. He greatly expanded the Shiite clerical class and built the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard into the most important body underpinning his rule. The Guard became a military and business behemoth, the country’s most elite force and head of its ballistic missile arsenal — a key target for Israel and the U.S. in the war.

Asian stock markets posted strong gains on Friday while oil prices fell after US President Donald Trump said progress had been made in efforts to end the Iran war, boosting investor confidence across global markets. US stock futures also moved slightly higher following sharp gains on Wall Street. South Korea's Kospi index surged 7.8 percent to 8,370.82, recovering much of the losses linked to recent sell-offs in artificial intelligence-related stocks. The benchmark index has nearly doubled over the past six months, though it remains below its record closing high reached on June 2. Shares of Samsung Electronics jumped 11.2 percent, while chipmaker SK Hynix gained 7.2 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 advanced 3.5 percent to 66,442.95, led by technology stocks. SoftBank Group rose 2 percent and semiconductor equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron soared 10.3 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 1.8 percent to 24,689.32, while China's Shanghai Composite gained 1.6 percent to 4,050.51. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.9 percent to 8,798.10. Taiwan's Taiex added 2.6 percent and India's Sensex increased 1.2 percent. Investor sentiment improved after Trump said on Thursday that he had cancelled planned military strikes against Iran and claimed the United States had reached a significant understanding to end the conflict. He also suggested that an extension of the fragile ceasefire between the two sides could be agreed within days, although he provided few details. Markets had come under pressure earlier this week as tensions between Washington and Tehran intensified. Rising oil prices have fueled inflation concerns worldwide, particularly as the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil and gas shipments, remained largely closed. Analysts at ING said there appeared to be more encouraging signs surrounding a possible agreement this time, although they cautioned that any ceasefire extension remained uncertain and could still prove fragile. Oil prices retreated as hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough increased. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 1.7 percent to $88.87 per barrel, while US benchmark crude dropped 1.6 percent to $86.33 per barrel. Both remained significantly above pre-war levels of around $70 a barrel. On Thursday, Wall Street recorded broad-based gains. The S&P 500 rose 1.8 percent to 7,394.30, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.9 percent to 50,848.75, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.5 percent to 25,809.66. Technology and AI-related stocks have experienced heightened volatility in recent days amid concerns that rapid share price increases and heavy investment spending could signal a market bubble. Marvell Technology jumped 11.1 percent, while Oracle fell 8.5 percent despite reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, as investors worried about its growing spending commitments. Investors were also watching the highly anticipated Wall Street debut of SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket company, which is expected to become the largest initial public offering on record with plans to raise about $75 billion. In currency trading, the US dollar strengthened to 160.22 Japanese yen from 159.93 yen, while the euro slipped slightly to $1.1574 from $1.1578.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he had called off new military strikes on Iran, claiming a breakthrough in negotiations to end the war just hours after the American leader threatened to escalate the conflict by seizing control of Iran’s oil industry. Trump has said multiple times in recent weeks that the warring parties have been on the cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition. A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a live phone call on state television that mediators were active and nothing had been finalized to end the conflict that began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel jointly attacked Iran. Trump opened an Oval Office event Thursday afternoon saying: “We just made a great settlement of the war with Iran.” He offered scant details, other than to say he expects an agreement to extend a fragile ceasefire that started in April to be finalized “over the next few days.” Extending the terms of the ceasefire gives U.S. leaders more time to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear program, the main reason Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used to justify launching the war. Netanyahu’s office said Thursday that Israel is not a party to the emerging agreement between the U.S. and Iran. The announcement came after two days of back-and-forth attacks between the U.S. and Iran had pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war. Trump had threatened further escalation earlier Thursday, posting on social media that the U.S. would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and take “total control” of its oil and gas industries. A few hours later, Trump posted on social media that significant points in the negotiations “have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.” Esmail Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said in his phone call on state television that text of a deal is “mostly finalized.” “The problem is that the contradictions in America’s position has caused turbulence to this process,” he said Thursday night. A major sticking point in negotiations has been Iran’s nuclear program, which the U.S. and Israel fear could lead to an atomic weapon, but which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes. Another key issue is Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane for transporting oil and natural gas. Trump again moves quickly from threats to negotiating Trump’s rapid shift Thursday from dire threats to promoting peace negotiations again underscored his whipsaw approach to the war. He suggested on Monday that a deal to end the conflict could be reached in a matter of days. Then back-and-forth strikes rattled the Middle East this week. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel, followed by the two rounds of fire between the U.S. and Iran, which targeted countries where U.S. troops are based. The U.S. strikes began after Trump blamed Iran for downing an American attack helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Both pilots were rescued safely. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire ... meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it. After Trump threatened more attacks were to come on Thursday, Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, responded on social media that “wrong strategies and impulsive decisions” would wreak havoc on energy markets and “create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years.” It wasn’t the first time Trump threatened escalation before giving negotiations another chance. In April, he warned Iran that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if it didn’t agree to his terms, before extending a ceasefire.

Iran and Israel have announced a halt to direct attacks against each other following a fresh exchange of fire, while both sides warned of strong retaliation if the fragile ceasefire is violated again. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel was holding fire “at the moment” but stressed that the campaign against Iran and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement was “not finished.” His remarks came hours after Iran’s armed forces announced that they had suspended military operations after delivering what they described as a “painful response” to Israel. Tehran also warned that any new Israeli attacks, including strikes in Lebanon, would trigger “more severe and crushing measures.” The latest escalation began after Iran launched missiles at Israel on Sunday in retaliation for an Israeli strike on Beirut. Israel responded early Monday with air strikes targeting what it described as military facilities inside Iran. US President Donald Trump denied suggestions that Netanyahu had ignored his requests by carrying out the strikes, saying the Israeli operation was already underway when he intervened. The White House confirmed that Trump spoke with Netanyahu regarding the crisis. Trump said he urged restraint, citing ongoing efforts to secure a broader agreement with Iran aimed at preventing the development of nuclear weapons. According to US media reports, Trump also warned Netanyahu that Israel could find itself isolated if it resumed a full-scale conflict with Iran. Despite the ceasefire announcement, hostilities continued into Monday morning. Israeli authorities reported additional Iranian missile launches targeting Jerusalem and central and southern Israel. The Israeli military said it subsequently carried out another wave of strikes, targeting a petrochemical complex in Mahshahr in southwestern Iran, alleging the facility was involved in producing materials used for ballistic missiles. Iranian officials said at least 15 people were injured in the latest Israeli strikes, including 14 in Mahshahr and one in Tehran. Meanwhile, violence continued in Lebanon. The Lebanese Health Ministry said an Israeli strike on the southern city of Tyre killed five people and injured eight others on Monday. Four members of the Red Cross were among those wounded. Hezbollah said it launched rockets at Israeli military vehicles and troops in southern Lebanon earlier in the day. Trump publicly urged both sides to stop military actions, warning that continued attacks could undermine ongoing diplomatic efforts. The conflict began on February 28 when Israel and the United States launched a joint military operation against Iran, resulting in the deaths of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior Iranian officials, according to reports cited in the conflict. The war quickly expanded across the region, with Iran retaliating through missile and drone attacks against Israel and Gulf states hosting US military facilities. The conflict later spread to Lebanon after Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel in support of Iran. A US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has so far failed to end hostilities, with Hezbollah demanding a complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory. According to figures cited by Iranian and international rights groups, more than 3,400 people have been killed in Iran since the conflict began. Lebanese authorities report over 3,600 deaths from Israeli attacks in Lebanon. Israeli authorities say 20 civilians have been killed in Iranian missile strikes, while dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians have died during fighting involving Hezbollah. Additional casualties have also been reported across several Gulf countries and among US military personnel stationed in the region. Source: BBC