{"text":[[{"start":10.45,"text":"Four American troops are believed to have been killed since Friday as the US and Iran intensified their war in the Middle East."}],[{"start":17.35,"text":"US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said on Sunday that “after a thorough search, US military personnel found unidentified remains at the location” in Jordan where two troops had been killed and a third was reported missing on Friday, following an Iranian attack. "}],[{"start":35.6,"text":"“An examination process to verify the remains is ongoing,” Centcom said in a statement."}],[{"start":42.2,"text":"One other US service member was killed and another injured on Saturday in northern Iraq during what Centcom called “a controlled detonation of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone”."}],[{"start":55.6,"text":"The military on Saturday evening launched an eighth night of strikes that it said were meant to “swiftly punish Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces” for the attack in Jordan, while further degrading “Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz”. "}],[{"start":72.05,"text":"US forces hit Iranian military facilities and missile and drone storage sites among other targets, Centcom said."}],[{"start":79.64999999999999,"text":"Iran’s health ministry said on Sunday that at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 others injured in the US strikes since late June."}],[{"start":88.94999999999999,"text":"The fighting has intensified since a tenuous ceasefire announced in April collapsed last week, and US President Donald Trump reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports."}],[{"start":100.04999999999998,"text":"The price of oil has risen by almost 25 per cent in the month of July, while global inventories remain at critically low levels. Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose more than 3 per cent to $90.94 a barrel when futures markets reopened for trading late on Sunday."}],[{"start":117.84999999999998,"text":"Tehran has stepped up attacks across the Gulf in recent days, including striking Saudi Arabia for the first time in nearly four months. The Kuwaiti army said on Sunday morning that its air-defence systems had been activated to intercept missiles and drones from Iran. The Gulf state has been intensely targeted over the past 48 hours, including with multiple attacks on power generation and water desalination plants — critical infrastructure on which it relies for fresh water."}],[{"start":145.45,"text":"In neighbouring Bahrain, which alongside Kuwait has borne the brunt of recent Iranian attacks, sirens were sounded on Sunday as the interior ministry urged the public to seek shelter. The army said on Sunday that it had intercepted and destroyed another wave of Iranian air strikes."}],[{"start":162.54999999999998,"text":"The Israel Defense Forces warned on Sunday of a “spillover into Israeli territory” from Iranian missiles fired at the city of Aqaba in Jordan, though there were no impacts reported inside Israel. The country, which in February launched the war against Iran alongside the US, has not been involved in the latest round of strikes."}],[{"start":180.64999999999998,"text":"The missile fire on Aqaba came after the US embassy in Amman warned of a “specific and credible threat” to the city’s international airport and seaport. Jordanian authorities reportedly denied that both facilities had been evacuated, and there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage."}],[{"start":200.34999999999997,"text":"US energy secretary Chris Wright told ABC News on Sunday that the primary objective of US strikes now is to assure “that oil and gas and other products can flow through the Strait of Hormuz”, referring to the waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil transited without Iranian interference until the US and Israel launched the war."}],[{"start":221.04999999999995,"text":"Asked about his prediction in mid-March that the war would “certainly come to the end in the next few weeks,” Wright said “the president is always looking for the diplomatic off-ramp” but had been unable so far to find one."}],[{"start":233.64999999999995,"text":"“President Trump wants to end it with a peaceful agreement with Iran . . . if they’re ready to do that, that’s the way it will end,” Wright said. "}],[{"start":240.99999999999994,"text":"“If not, we will continue to assure flow of traffic through the strait without Iran’s co-operation,” he said, adding that the Trump administration has no “reason to believe [Iran] will stop” its attacks."}],[{"start":253.69999999999993,"text":"The mounting American death toll amid a seemingly intractable conflict is likely to pile further pressure on Trump, who is confronting record-low approval ratings as a growing share of voters sour on his handling of the conflict and the global energy crisis it has ignited."}],[{"start":269.99999999999994,"text":"Trump, who had no immediate comment on the deaths Sunday, was watching the final World Cup match at a stadium in New Jersey, alongside Fifa president Gianni Infantino, when Centcom released the updated death toll."}],[{"start":283.09999999999997,"text":"The US president had lifted the blockade last month after the warring parties signed a memorandum of understanding that extended an April ceasefire by 60 days and was supposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz."}],[{"start":296.45,"text":"Additional reporting from Gregory Meyer in New York and Neri Zilber in Tel Aviv"}],[{"start":309.2,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784506002_3041.mp3"}