US launches ‘powerful’ strikes on Iran after attempted attack on American troops
The US military announced that it started attacks against Iran in retaliation for the attempted surprise attack on American forces in the Middle East.
Centcom said on
The latest hostilities came a day after the conflict expanded with the first joint US-Saudi strikes targeting Iran’s proxies in Iraq.
When the US and Israel launched a military attack on Iran in February, Trump said the war would last only a few weeks, but it has now been going on for five months with no end in sight.
The conflict flared up again this week after several relatively calm days.
Both sides halted strikes for days after talks resumed in the hope of some kind of diplomatic solution. Although Trump described these as “very friendly negotiations,” Tehran denied any discussions took place.
Hours before the attacks announced Wednesday, Trump vowed to retaliate against Iran for its attempted attack on US troops a day earlier.
“We’re going to hit them very hard because it’s our turn to hit them,” the US president told reporters at the White House.
“They knew it was coming. They asked us not to do it.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted a US air base and a command center in Jordan “in response to the aggressive actions of the American infanticide army”.
He also said naval forces shot down three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz after they “ignored warnings” and followed what he described as an “unsafe and illegal route” through the vital Gulf waterway.
There was a three-day lull in fighting earlier this week. This followed 13 consecutive nights of bombing by the United States, which it said targeted Iran’s weapons and military installations. It was stated that many people lost their lives.
On Tuesday, Centcom said joint US-Saudi strikes “hit multiple terrorist logistics and weapons facilities in eastern Iraq in a robust response to more than 30 IRGC-directed drone strikes over the past 72 hours.”
Iraq’s paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), dominated by Iran-backed Shiite militias, said at least 20 of its members were killed in attacks on US-Saudi bases.
The Iraqi presidency stated that it condemned the bombing of PMF bases, calling it “an unacceptable attack and a blatant violation of Iraq’s sovereignty.”
But Trump told Fox News that the attacks were carried out “in coordination with the Iraqi government.”
Saudi Arabia, which sees itself as the leading power of Sunni Muslims, and Iran, the largest country of Shiite Muslims, have been locked in a struggle for regional dominance for decades.
