Trump vows Iran will ‘pay’ for killing US soldiers

The US intensifies air strikes on Iran, targeting critical sites after the deaths of American soldiers in the region.US President Donald Trump says Iran will “pay” for killing United States soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump said on Monday on social media. “This directive has been passed on to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and every Leader in the Military. President DONALD J TRUMP.”Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Petrol prices climb as US–Iran tensions disrupt marketslist 2 of 3What we know about US soldiers killed in Iran war, and Iranian casualtieslist 3 of 3Iran says diplomatic efforts ongoing via mediators amid fighting with USend of listTrump’s warning came after the US earlier on Monday launched its ninth night of air strikes on Iran after announcing the death of a US service member, killed in Iraq during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone.The US military also identified two soldiers who were killed in Jordan on Friday while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Seventeen US troops have been killed since the start of the five-month Iran" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38678" data-entity-type="event">US-Israel war on Iran.The renewed exchanges of fire, now in their second week, have seen the US target Iranian bridges and electrical facilities as the countries appear to inch closer to a return to full-scale war. Iran on Monday retaliated with attacks on US allies Kuwait and Bahrain, home of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.Roughly 430 US troops have been injured in the conflict so far.The White House said Trump would attend dignified transfer ceremonies at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the service members killed.It is unclear what specific “directive” Trump passed to the Pentagon. But a US official told Reuters that prior to the deadly attack in Jordan, the US had already started moving additional military aircraft, including fighter jets and refuelling tankers, to the Middle East.