Trump ordered a ninth consecutive night of Iran strikes as troop deaths mounted, still defying the war-powers resolution

On the night of July 19, 2026, U.S. Central Command carried out a ninth consecutive night of airstrikes on Iranian military command centers, air defense and coastal surveillance sites, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and communications networks, stating the strikes were aimed at degrading Iran's ability to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said the wave began at 7 p.m. ET and marked the ninth straight night of the bombing campaign since ceasefire talks broke down. The strikes came after CENTCOM disclosed that a third U.S. service member, in northern Iraq, had been killed in action attempting to disarm an unexploded Iranian drone, following the deaths of two U.S. troops in a Jordan attack days earlier, bringing the combat death toll of the war with Iran to 17.

President Trump ordered the strikes "at the Commander in Chief's direction," with no indication of new congressional authorization sought or obtained. The campaign continues in direct defiance of the first-ever bicameral War Powers Resolution, which Congress passed in June 2026 directing the administration to end hostilities with Iran absent a declaration of war or specific new authorization. Rather than returning to Congress following the latest U.S. casualties, the administration again treated them as grounds for further unilateral strikes, extending a pattern of nightly military action against Iran that has now continued for nine consecutive nights without the authorization the War Powers Resolution requires.