US hits Iran with new strikes after Trump vows to give ‘a beating’

The US launched fresh strikes on Iran after Donald Trump pledged to give Tehran a “beating” in response to its “surprise attack” on American bases in the Middle East.

The retaliatory strikes were the first on Iranian soil since Friday, when the US president abruptly ended a 13-day intensive bombing campaign.

Mr Trump said he would hit Iran “hard” after it fired ballistic missiles at American troops in Jordan on Tuesday night.

In comments to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Mr Trump hinted at retaliation, warning it was “our turn to hit them”.

“We’re going to be hitting them very hard because it’s our turn to hit them. They know it’s coming,” Mr Trump said.

Hours later, US Central Command (Centcom) announced it had begun striking targets in a “powerful response” to the barrage of missiles.

The “heavy” wave of strikes spanned dozens of targets linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which a day prior had launched “multiple ballistic missiles in an attempted surprise attack on US forces”, Centcom said.

It was an unprecedented move from Tehran, which previously only launched retaliatory strikes.

Jordanian air defences intercepted all five Iranian missiles.

In response, the US and Saudi Arabia jointly struck “multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq” belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Centcom said.

The PMF warned about a “highly dangerous escalation” across the region after the collapse of the ceasefire earlier in July.

At least 20 Iran-aligned terrorists in Iraq were killed and 32 others injured.

The PMF said it would respond to the Saudi-America strikes but only after the conclusion of the Arbaeen pilgrimage, where Shia Muslims pay respects at the holy city of Karbala in Iraq.

“Our response to the American enemy is inevitable and will come, and we may target its tools in Saudi Arabia if the situation demands it,” the statement said.

The two-hour American campaign on Wednesday night hit military command centres, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defence sites and maritime capabilities.

Speaking to Fox News, Mr Trump said he had reviewed a video of the shoot down in real time.

“We’re to beat the f------ s--- out of them,” Mr Trump said in an interview on Wednesday morning, referring to Iran.

“We’ll be hitting them hard, They’re going to get a beating.”

Oil prices jumped after Mr Trump’s comments with Brent crude rising 5.8 per cent to $86.82 (£64.87) a barrel.

Later on Wednesday, a drone hit a US-owned tanker in an Egyptian port, causing an explosion.

The gas storage tanker called Energos Winter was struck at the Mediterranean port of Damietta, maritime security firm Ambrey said.

The fire then spread to three other gas tankers but was later brought under control.

Adding to the tension in the region, Houthi rebels in Yemen are said to be considering imposing fees on ships passing through the Red Sea.

Sources told Reuters that the Iran-backed group was making plans for controls on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, mirroring the toll that Iran placed on the Strait of Hormuz.

Such a move by Iran’s most capable regional proxy would compound the chokehold on global trade and oil supplies.

The IRGC targeted three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, defying Mr Trump’s warning that attacks on shipping would trigger strikes on an Iranian bridge or power plant.

In another flare-up, Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) accused Hezbollah of breaching the truce in Lebanon by firing on one of its vehicles.

Israel said the terror group hit one of its unmanned engineering vehicles overnight using an explosive drone in the Ali Taher Ridge of Lebanon’s south, within the IDF’s buffer zone.

The alleged attack risks derailing the current ceasefire and pilot programme whereby the IDF gradually hands over territory to the Lebanese Armed Forces.

An IDF spokesman said: “This is a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement in Lebanon by the Hezbollah terror organisation.”

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, met JD Vance, the vice-president, in Washington on Tuesday evening, according to Israeli officials.

Mr Vance is a war sceptic and has publicly criticised Israel and accused it of trying to sink peace negotiations with Iran.

Mr Netanyahu, who was in the US for the funeral of Senator Lindsey Graham, was due to meet with Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, on Wednesday.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]