US President Donald Trump on Wednesday vowed a forceful response against Iran after it launched a ballistic missile attack targeting US bases in Jordan.
“We’re going to beat the f—— s— out of them,” Trump told Fox News on Wednesday morning.
“We’ll be hitting them hard. They’re going to get a beating.”
Trump claimed that US forces had only minutes to respond to the “surprise attack” and intercepted the incoming missiles before they could reach their targets. He added that he had watched footage showing US personnel calling out coordinates in real time during the interception.
Trump’s remarks came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for targeting Jordan’s Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a key US military hub and Central Command facility in Jordan.
According to a statement carried by Iranian state media outlet Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the IRGC Aerospace Force said it had launched “several ballistic missiles” at the US Army air base and Central Command centre in Jordan, describing the operation as a response to what it called aggressive actions by the United States, news agency ANI reported.
“As long as threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran continue and illegal and evil actions by American forces against our interests continue, the resistance will continue,” the IRGC statement said, according to IRIB.
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Jordan’s military said it intercepted and destroyed five Iranian missiles, adding that there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
US strikes Iran-backed militias
In response to Iran’s attack on US bases in Jordan, the US, along with Saudi Arabia, launched strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, saying the operation was carried out in coordination with the Iraqi government.
At least four military advisers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were reportedly killed in the overnight strikes, Iran’s Hamshahri newspaper reported on Wednesday, according to Reuters. Over 20 fighters were also killed in the strikes.
The US confirmed the strikes, saying the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces and US Central Command (CENTCOM) jointly carried out precision strikes against Iran-aligned militant sites in Iraq, targeting locations used for logistics and weapons operations.
CENTCOM said the strikes were conducted on July 28 against groups it described as Iran-aligned terrorists that had been directed by the IRGC to target US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.
“US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours,” CENTCOM said.
It added that Iran’s attack on US military bases had been unsuccessful.
“The unwarranted attacks against U.S. forces were not successful. The IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response,” CENTCOM said.
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Iran condemns US strikes
Iran strongly condemned the joint US-Saudi precision strikes in Iraq, saying the attacks violated Iraq’s sovereignty and amounted to a breach of international law.
“These attacks are a clear attack on the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq and a gross violation of Article 2, Paragraph 4, of the United Nations Charter and the fundamental rules of international law,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said, according to ANI.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns the aggressive attacks by the US and Saudi Arabia on some areas in Iraq, including against facilities and places belonging to official Iraqi institutions, as well as the processions and stations of the Arbaeen pilgrims,” the statement added.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry also expressed support for the Iraqi government and its people.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while expressing condolences for the martyrdom of a group of honourable Iraqi people during these aggressive attacks, emphasises the full support and solidarity of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the government and people of Iraq,” it said.
Separately, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an alliance of pro-Iran armed groups, warned on Wednesday that a response to the deadly US-Saudi strikes in Iraq was “inevitable”, AFP reported.
The group, which has targeted US facilities hundreds of times during the Middle East conflict, said, “our response to the American enemy is inevitable, and may target its tools in Saudi Arabia.”
Iran further retaliated by launching a barrage of missiles at American forces in West Asia early Wednesday, AP reported.
The latest escalation between the United States and Iran, with its implications for the wider West Asia region, has heightened concerns that Washington is further depleting its already limited stockpiles of advanced munitions required to protect its military bases and regional allies, according to AP.
Before the recent flare-up, mediators had voiced optimism about bringing the US and Iran back to the negotiating table.
However, hopes for diplomacy faded after an interim agreement collapsed in recent weeks amid renewed fighting in the Strait of Hormuz, that has once again been effectively shut down by Iranian attacks.