US launches new strikes on Iran after Trump vows to hit Tehran ‘very hard’

US forces bombed dozens of targets in Iran hours after Trump threatened to hit Iran “very hard” following Iranian attacks.

By World Israel News Staff

The US launched a new wave of strikes against Iran overnight Wednesday, hours after President Donald Trump promised a forceful response to an Iranian missile attack targeting American forces in Jordan.

US Central Command said the operation began at 8 p.m. Eastern time, describing it as retaliation for Iran’s attempted attacks on US military personnel in the Middle East.

“The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday’s attempted Iranian attacks on US forces based in the Middle East,” CENTCOM said.

Trump had earlier warned that Iran would face severe consequences for firing ballistic missiles at military installations in Jordan, including Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a major hub for US operations in the region.

“We are going to hit them very hard. I can say that because there is very little they can do about it,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office event Wednesday.

The president said all five incoming projectiles had been intercepted but argued that the failed attack still required a military response.

Trump described the launches as an attempted surprise attack and said US forces had only minutes to respond. He said Iran had unsuccessfully appealed to Washington not to retaliate.

“They know it’s coming. They’re asking us not to do it,” he said.

Although Trump left open the possibility of reaching an agreement with Tehran, he said the US would first respond militarily.

“So it’s our turn,” Trump said, adding that the US was “going to hit them very hard.”

In an earlier interview with Fox News, Trump used more explicit language to describe the planned retaliation.

“We’re going to beat the f***ing s**t out of them,” he said. “We’ll be hitting them hard. They are going to get a beating.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for the missile attack, saying it had targeted a US air base and another American military facility in Jordan. Jordan’s armed forces said five Iranian missiles were intercepted and destroyed, with no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The attack marked the first Iranian missile strike against a US base in the region since Trump paused American attacks against Iran several days earlier amid efforts to revive negotiations.

The new round of US strikes appeared to end that pause and renewed concerns that the conflict could again intensify across several countries.

Before striking Iran directly, US and Saudi fighter aircraft carried out joint attacks against Iran-aligned militias in eastern Iraq. CENTCOM said the aircraft targeted weapons and logistics sites used by groups directed by the IRGC to attack American forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.

The command said the operation followed more than 30 IRGC-directed drone attacks over a 72-hour period. It said the attacks against US forces had failed.

Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella organization that includes several Iran-backed Shiite militias, said at least 20 of its fighters were killed and 32 others wounded. Iraqi officials condemned the US-Saudi operation as a violation of the country’s sovereignty.

CENTCOM said Iran and its allied militias must halt their attacks to prevent further US military action.

Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said the kingdom was not seeking an expanded confrontation but would respond to attacks against its territory. The joint operation was the first time Riyadh publicly acknowledged directly participating alongside the US in strikes against Iran-backed groups during the current war.

The escalation also spread to Egypt, where fires broke out aboard two natural-gas vessels at the Mediterranean port of Damietta. A British maritime security firm initially assessed that a drone had struck a US-owned floating gas-storage vessel, although Egyptian authorities did not confirm that the fires resulted from an attack.

Trump said he had been briefed on the incident, calling it “a little more of the same,” but did not identify who was responsible.

The renewed fighting followed several days of relative calm and renewed diplomatic activity aimed at ending the months-long conflict. Trump indicated that talks could still take place but suggested that diplomacy would not prevent an immediate response to Iran’s missile launches.

“We’ll see if we get there with an agreement at some point,” Trump said. “But we’re going to hit them very hard.”

Donald TrumpIranIran war