US launches 'powerful' strikes on Iran after attempted attack on American troops
The US military called the strikes "a powerful response" to Tuesday's firing by Iran on US bases in Jordan.
The United States military has initiated strikes against Iran, according to its own statements, in retaliation for an attempted surprise assault on American forces stationed in the Middle East.
Centcom announced on X that these strikes constituted "a powerful response" to Iran's actions on Tuesday, which involved firing upon US bases in Jordan and vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
These latest hostilities follow by a day the expansion of the conflict, marked by the first publicly disclosed joint US-Saudi strikes targeting Iranian proxies in Iraq.
When the US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran in February, Trump predicted the war would conclude in a matter of weeks; however, it has now persisted for five months with no resolution in sight.
The conflict has reignited after a period of relative calm earlier this week. For several days, both sides had ceased strikes, as discussions reportedly resumed with hopes of achieving a diplomatic solution. Trump characterized these as "very friendly negotiations," though Tehran denied that any discussions were taking place.
Hours before the announced strikes on Wednesday, Trump had vowed to retaliate against Iran for their attempted attack on US troops the previous day. The US president informed reporters at the White House, "We're going to be hitting them very hard because it's our turn to hit them. They know it's coming. They asked us not to do it."
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that it had targeted a US air base and a command center in Jordan "in response to the acts of aggression of the American child-killing army." The IRGC also claimed that its naval forces had struck three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after they "ignored warnings" and navigated what it described as an "unsafe and illegal route" through the crucial Gulf waterway.
Earlier this week, a three-day cessation of hostilities occurred. This followed 13 consecutive nights of bombing by the US, which asserted it had targeted Iranian weapons and military sites. Numerous fatalities were reported.
On Tuesday, Centcom reported that joint US-Saudi strikes hit "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."
Iraq's paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), which is predominantly composed of Iran-backed Shia militias, reported that at least 20 of its members were killed in US-Saudi strikes on its bases.
The Iraqi presidency condemned the bombing of the PMF bases, labeling it "an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty." However, Trump informed Fox News that the strikes had been "co-ordinated with the Iraqi government."
Saudi Arabia, which views itself as the leading Sunni Muslim power, and Iran, the largest Shia Muslim country, have been engaged in a decades-long struggle for regional dominance.