President Donald Trump has threatened retaliatory action after Iran fired missiles on a US base in Jordan.
Mr Trump’s threat came only five days after he abruptly suspended his consecutive 13-day bombing campaign, and Tehran paused its retaliatory strikes, which targeted US interests in the Gulf.
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“We’ll be hitting them hard,” he said on Wednesday, according to Fox News. But he did not specify when the attacks are likely to be launched.
Iran launched the attack on Tuesday while Mr Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been pushing for war on Iran, at the White House.
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The US Central Command (CENTCOM) disclosed on X that it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East.
The Command wrote, “At 5:45 pm ET today, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East.
“All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted. US forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness.”
Al Jazeera reports that five missile interceptions were reported over Jordan.
The IRGC also confirmed the attack, stating that its air force targeted a US airbase and Central Command centre in Jordan, “with several ballistic missiles.”
“As long as threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran continue and illegal and vicious actions by American forces against our interests continue, the resistance will continue,” it said.
Iranian strikes also came after US/ Saudi Arabia joint strikes on Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a move that heightened tension in the new war front.
The attack killed 20 members of the PMF, a state-recognised Iraqi armed group with ties to Iran.
CENTCOM said the attack was a response to Iraq militias’ attacks on American troops and Saudi energy infrastructure.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Saudi Arabia announced that it intercepted drones launched from Iraq that targeted oil facilities in the Eastern Province and Riyadh on Monday.
An Houthi attack on Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, also forced it to shut down its Jazan oil refinery on Tuesday.
The attack damaged the refinery’s integrated gasification combined-cycle complex and an oil storage area.
Aramco plans to complete repairs and begin restarting operations by August 15.
The Aramco-affiliated facilities are Saudi Arabia’s most strategically important oil facilities on the Red Sea.
Saudi-Arabia had re-routed its crude output to Yanbu via its east-west pipeline to get around Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which began after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran in February.
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