President Donald Trump warned that the United States would hit Iran “very hard” after Tehran fired ballistic missiles toward a military base in Jordan used by American forces, sharply escalating a confrontation that had shown tentative signs of easing. Jordan’s armed forces said five missiles were intercepted and destroyed, and there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base, a strategically important installation northeast of Amman.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it carried out the missile operation, according to a statement carried by Iranian state media. The attack represented a direct strike against a facility supporting U.S. military operations rather than an assault conducted solely through one of Tehran’s regional partners. That distinction increases pressure on Washington to respond while raising the risk that another exchange could expand into sustained direct warfare.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump said the United States was preparing to retaliate. “We’re going to be hitting them very hard,” he said, adding that Iranian officials knew an American response was coming. Trump did not disclose the scale, timing or targets of any planned operation. He also left open the possibility of an eventual agreement with Tehran, but indicated that retaliation would come first.

The president had used even stronger language during an earlier Fox News interview, promising that Iran would receive a severe military response. The statements drove home an increasingly confrontational message after several days in which administration officials and regional mediators had discussed whether Washington and Tehran might resume negotiations. As of early Thursday, the White House and Pentagon had not publicly announced a new operation specifically tied to the missile attack in Jordan.

The Iranian barrage came as the United States and Saudi Arabia were already conducting strikes against Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq. U.S. Central Command said American and Saudi fighter aircraft hit multiple logistics and weapons facilities in eastern Iraq on July 28. CENTCOM said the targeted groups had been directed by the Revolutionary Guard to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.

According to the command, the joint strikes followed more than 30 aerial-drone attacks during the previous 72 hours. CENTCOM said the attacks against American forces had not succeeded and warned the Revolutionary Guard and its regional partners to halt further operations or face additional U.S. military action. An American official cited by The Associated Press said the Iraq strikes and the subsequent Iranian missile attack were not directly connected, even though they formed part of the same widening confrontation.

The Popular Mobilization Forces, an Iraqi coalition that includes several Iran-backed groups but is formally integrated into the country’s security establishment, said at least 20 fighters were killed and 32 wounded in the U.S.-Saudi strikes. Iraqi militia officials told the AP that several Iranian advisers were also killed, although Iranian and Iraqi accounts differed over the total. The Iraqi government condemned the airstrikes and said they violated the country’s sovereignty while Baghdad was attempting to address U.S. and Saudi security concerns.

The competing claims highlight the difficulty facing Iraq, which maintains relations with Washington and Tehran while hosting armed organizations linked to Iran. Further U.S. strikes inside Iraq could increase political pressure on Baghdad to restrict American military operations or reconsider security arrangements with Washington. At the same time, attacks launched from Iraqi territory against U.S. troops or Saudi infrastructure could provoke increasingly forceful responses.

The latest violence has also spread economic and security concerns beyond Jordan and Iraq. Drone strikes ignited fires aboard two natural-gas vessels at Egypt’s Damietta port, according to maritime security reporting cited by the AP. Responsibility for those attacks was not immediately established, and no injuries were reported. Separately, Saudi energy facilities have faced attacks attributed to regional groups aligned with Tehran, adding to concerns over the reliability of Middle Eastern oil exports.

Oil prices rose sharply as traders assessed the possibility of renewed U.S. attacks and additional disruption to shipping routes. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of globally traded petroleum normally passes, remains a central point of tension. Any intensified campaign against Iranian military assets, shipping or energy infrastructure could further raise fuel costs for American consumers and increase pressure on global supply chains.

The missile exchange also adds to questions about U.S. air-defense capacity. American forces and regional allies have relied heavily on Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems to intercept Iranian missiles and drones during months of conflict. Defense analysts have warned that sustained operations could draw down interceptor inventories faster than they can be replenished, potentially forcing commanders to make increasingly difficult decisions about which bases, cities and infrastructure sites receive the greatest protection.

Diplomatic prospects appeared uncertain even before Iran’s latest attack. Regional governments, including Oman, have attempted to develop arrangements addressing security and shipping in the Persian Gulf, but Washington and Tehran remain divided over military operations, sanctions, Iran’s missile forces and control of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials have disputed U.S. claims that Tehran was urgently seeking renewed talks, while Trump has alternated between threats of military force and statements that an agreement could still be reached.

The immediate question is whether the administration will choose a limited response intended to restore deterrence or authorize a broader attack that could invite another Iranian missile barrage. The interception over Jordan prevented casualties that might have made a large-scale U.S. operation politically unavoidable. Even so, Trump’s public promise of a hard response leaves little room for the administration to ignore the attack without appearing to retreat from its warnings.

For U.S. forces stationed across the Middle East, the episode means continued heightened readiness and the prospect of additional attacks from Iran or Iran-aligned organizations. For the region, it marks the breakdown of another short period of relative calm. Unless Washington and Tehran establish limits on retaliation, the missile strike and Trump’s response could become the opening moves in a new and more dangerous phase of the conflict.