Donald Trump has promised to retaliate against Iran after US Central Command said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired ballistic missiles at American military installations in the Middle East. Centcom said the strikes were intercepted. Oil prices climbed and US equity indices fell as the exchange of attacks resumed.
Donald Trump has vowed to hit Iran hard in retaliation for what he called a "surprise" attack aimed at US military targets in the Middle East. He made the threat in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, telling the network: "We'll be hitting them hard. They're going to get a beating".
The president's comments came the morning after US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said the Revolutionary Guard had launched ballistic missiles at US military installations in the region. Centcom added that the strikes had been successfully intercepted.
The IRGC says it targeted US bases in Jordan
The IRGC said its aerospace force had targeted the US air base and Centcom's regional headquarters in Jordan with several ballistic missiles. Trump told Fox that US forces had just minutes to shoot down the incoming missiles overnight.
Iran's attack ended a pause in direct military action between the warring countries that had lasted several days and calmed energy markets. The renewed violence risks a return to full-blown war, while the involvement of Saudi Arabia and militant groups also threatens to plunge the Middle East into a wider regional conflict.
Joint US-Saudi strikes in Iraq came first
Trump's remarks also followed joint US and Saudi strikes on Iran-backed militant groups in Iraq on Tuesday, a response to Iranian drone attacks separate from the ballistic missiles. Centcom said the militants had been ordered by the IRGC to attack American military targets and the kingdom's energy infrastructure.
Trump said the US-Saudi strikes had been co-ordinated with the Iraqi government, and Iraq's Iran-backed Shia militia groups said at least 20 of their members had been killed in them. Washington had paused its own strikes on Friday after 13 straight nights of attacks, saying Trump was giving "space" for talks with Tehran.
Oil jumps while Wall Street slips
Oil prices climbed sharply after Trump's remarks, extending earlier gains: Brent crude was up almost 7% on the day at just below $90 a barrel.
US stocks moved the other way. The Dow was down 400 points, the S&P down 15.5 points and the Nasdaq down 86 points, InvestingLive reported, while the dollar moved modestly higher and yields stayed within their range.
Trump said negotiations between Washington and Tehran would continue. The IRGC, for its part, said resistance would continue as long as threats against the Islamic republic and what it called unlawful US military acts against Iranian interests persist.
Sources: Financial Times, InvestingLive
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