THE United States military has begun launching strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump vowed a forceful response to what Washington described as an attempted surprise attack on American forces in the Middle East.
US Central Command (Centcom) said the strikes represented "a powerful response" to Iran’s recent attacks on US bases in Jordan and vessels operating in the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest escalation came a day after the conflict widened further with the first publicly announced joint US-Saudi military strikes targeting Iranian-backed groups in Iraq.
The BBC reported on Thursday that the confrontation, which began after the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran in February, has now entered its fifth month despite earlier expectations from Trump that the fighting would last only several weeks.
The latest hostilities followed several days of relative calm, during which both sides paused attacks as diplomatic efforts appeared to resume in search of a possible resolution.
Trump had described the discussions as "very friendly negotiations", although Tehran denied that formal talks were taking place.
Hours before the latest strikes were announced, Trump warned Iran that retaliation was imminent following the attempted attack on US troops.
"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," he told reporters at the White House.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had targeted a US air base and command centre in Jordan "in response to the acts of aggression of the American child-killing army".
The IRGC also claimed responsibility for naval strikes against three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the vessels had ignored warnings and travelled through what it described as an "unsafe and illegal route".
Earlier this week, a three-day pause in fighting followed 13 consecutive nights of US air strikes, which Washington said targeted Iranian weapons facilities and military infrastructure.
The attacks reportedly resulted in dozens of deaths.
On Tuesday, Centcom said the joint US-Saudi operation targeted "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 Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a state-backed umbrella organisation dominated by Iran-aligned Shia militias, said at least 20 of its members were killed during the US-Saudi strikes on its bases.
The Iraqi presidency condemned the attacks, describing the bombing of PMF facilities as "an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty".
However, Trump told Fox News that the strikes had been coordinated with the Iraqi government.
The intensifying confrontation has further deepened long-standing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, two regional powers that have competed for influence across the Middle East for decades.
Saudi Arabia, the dominant Sunni Muslim power in the region, and Iran, the world's largest Shia Muslim country, have remained strategic rivals, with their rivalry increasingly shaping security developments across the Gulf, Iraq, Yemen and beyond. - July 30, 2026
