US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the United States would respond forcefully to Iranian attacks on American military bases in Jordan, warning that Tehran would face a "crushing defeat".
"We're going to hit them hard. They will suffer a crushing defeat," Trump said in an interview with Fox News, according to remarks relayed by a reporter from the US television network.
The Jordanian military said on Wednesday it had intercepted five Iranian missiles, while Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed it had targeted US military installations in Jordan.
According to Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, who interviewed the President off-camera, Trump said US forces had "only a few minutes" to intercept the incoming Iranian ballistic missiles.
Yingst also questioned Trump about US and Saudi Arabian air strikes against positions held by Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq. The strikes were launched in response to attacks on US targets and Saudi oil facilities.
'Unacceptable attack'
The US President said the strikes had been carried out "in coordination" with the Iraqi government, according to the reporter.
Earlier, however, Iraq's presidency condemned what it described as "the bombardment targeting the bases of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (Hashd al-Shaabi)", without naming either the United States or Saudi Arabia. It described the strikes as "an unacceptable attack and a flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty", saying they had targeted official state institutions.
The Popular Mobilisation Forces, an umbrella group of Iraqi armed factions that includes Iran-backed militias, said at least 20 of its members had been killed and 32 wounded in what it described as an "attack".
According to the Fox News interview, Trump described the Iran-backed militias as "a cancer on the world" and said he expected further warnings to be issued to Iran's supporters.
The renewed hostilities mark a return to fighting in the Middle East after several days of relative calm in the regional conflict.
