U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media on Monday that the U.S. forces will launch harsh retaliation against Iran following recent military casualties.
U.S. officials disclosed that nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured in Iranian strikes this month across the Middle East.
In his post, Trump said "Every time lran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over! 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."
The U.S. Central Command confirmed on Saturday that two American personnel were killed on Friday in Jordan during an Iranian ballistic missile and drone attack, with one additional service member reported missing. The following day, the U.S. military announced that another American was killed on Saturday in northern Iraq while attempting to defuse a downed Iranian drone.
However, the Trump administration has not entirely ruled out a diplomatic solution. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a media interview on Sunday evening that the administration "remains open to a diplomatic solution."
An U.S. official said on Monday that multiple Iranian airstrikes targeting U.S. military bases in the Middle East this month have injured nearly 100 U.S. military personnel.
Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed that since July 7, nearly 100 U.S. military personnel have been diagnosed with varying degrees of injuries, with 96 percent already returning to duty.
Parnell noted that the vast majority of injuries were minor concussions, and the affected personnel "are actively returning to combat positions."
Trump vows harsh retaliation against Iran following recent US military casualties
Trump vows harsh retaliation against Iran following recent US military casualties
Trump vows harsh retaliation against Iran following recent US military casualties
China has unveiled a new plan to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during the 2026-2030 period, setting targets for business growth, innovation and the development environment.
By 2030, China's SMEs, a key pillar of economic vitality and resilience, are expected to achieve growth in both quality and scale, with per capita operating revenue of major SMEs posting cumulative growth of around 15 percent over the five-year period, according to the plan, which was jointly issued by 10 central government departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
The plan sets out seven key tasks, including keeping businesses and employment stable, strengthening enterprise cultivation, accelerating digital, intelligent and green development, promoting coordinated and integrated development, improving the supply of production factors, strengthening the SME service system, and enhancing legal and policy safeguards.
The plan places greater emphasis on intelligent, green and integrated development, and adopts a more tailored approach to different industries and enterprise types. The new plan builds on progress made during the 14th Five-Year Plan until 2025, when China's SMEs saw significant improvements in business scale, innovation capacity and specialized expertise.
"The plan focuses on advancing high-quality and innovative development by establishing mechanisms to promote the growth of SMEs that use specialized and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, facilitating tiered growth of SMEs, and advancing intelligent, green, and integrated development. At the same time, it addresses practical difficulties such as talent shortages, funding constraints, and difficulties in rights and interests protection, adopting a tailored and categorized approach to help SMEs achieve steady and long-term growth," said Liang Zhifeng, director of the SME Bureau of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
"The plan encourages universities and research institutes to license scientific and technological achievements to SMEs on a use-before-payment basis, providing SMEs with opportunities to access innovation resources and advance collaborative innovation. In addition, the establishment of a tiered cultivation program for high-quality SMEs will help more of these enterprises grow into technology- and innovation-oriented SMEs, SMEs that use specialized and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, 'little giant' firms, and manufacturing champions," said Xu Yingjie, director of the SME Research Office of the Enterprise Research Institute under the Development Research Center of the State Council.
"Little giant" firms refer to the novel elites of SMEs that are engaged in manufacturing, specialize in a niche market and boast cutting-edge technologies.
Supporting SME development is among the priorities of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for national socioeconomic development.
This year's government work report also pledged stronger support for SMEs undergoing digital and intelligent transformation.
China made notable progress in SME development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with more than 63 million SMEs operating nationwide by the end of 2025, accounting for over 95 percent of all business entities.
China's new five-year plan targets SME innovation, digital, green growth
