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Jordan strike, US response
President Donald Trump said the U.S. would retaliate after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Jordan, with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia launching strikes on Tehran-backed militias in Iraq hours later.
“Iran’s surprise attack on U.S. forces in Jordan is threatening to blow up the temporary pause in fighting”
Trump told Fox News, "We're going to beat the f---ing s--- out of them," after the IRGC attack, and he later said it was "our turn" to strike Iran after the missiles were fired.
The Hill reported that the exchange of fire on multiple fronts is threatening to blow up a temporary pause in fighting, with the conflict now about to enter its sixth month.
CENTCOM said the "unwarranted attacks against US forces were not successful" and that the IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response.
In Iraq, the Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces said at least 20 of its members were killed and 32 injured in the U.S. and Saudi strikes.
Profanity, intercepts, and debate
Trump’s profanity-laced warnings were echoed across outlets, with Fox News reporting he told Trey Yingst, "We're going to beat the f---ing s--- out of them," and Stars and Stripes adding that air defenses "intercepted and destroyed" five missiles.
CBS News said Jordan’s military intercepted a new barrage of Iranian missiles Wednesday after the U.S. military said it was targeting American forces in the region the previous day, while CENTCOM said the missiles were intercepted.
The Hill quoted retired Marine Corps Col. Ray Gerber saying Iran’s firing at Jordan indicates Tehran and its regional proxies are carrying out "systematic targeting" of U.S. support infrastructure throughout the region.
Gerber also warned that "It’s not clear to me that our airstrikes are effective against those types of Iranian capabilities," as the conflict expanded with attacks and counterattacks involving Iran and its proxies.
In Washington, ABC News reported that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed options to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and a senior Israeli official said the official warned Iran that if it attacked Israel, it would respond "very, very forcefully" and "very quickly."
What’s at stake next
The U.S. and Saudi strikes in Iraq came alongside new U.S. sanctions tied to the Strait of Hormuz, with the State Department announcing sanctions on entities it accused of extracting fees from ships transiting the waterway.
“"running coercive 'insurance' schemes that extort international shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
CBS News said the State Department accused the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority of "running coercive 'insurance' schemes" that extort international shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The same CBS News update said CENTCOM redirected 20 commercial ships it accused of trying to evade its blockade on Iranian ports, up from 12 on Saturday, and it said U.S. forces boarded two ships and disabled two.
In parallel, Trump told reporters, "We're going to be hitting them very hard because it's our turn to hit them," while also saying talks with Iran would continue.
The Hill framed the broader risk as a return to all-out war, noting that while neither side may want a full conflict, Iran does not feel “satisfied” with where things stand and believes military pressure can force a greater compromise in negotiations.
