Trump on Iran: "It's our turn to hit them"

President Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. would hit Iran "very hard" as the war escalates following a dayslong lull in the fighting.

"We're going to be hitting them very hard, because it's our turn to hit them," he said in response to Iran targeting U.S. military forces in the Middle East on Tuesday night.

U.S. Central Command said it thwarted an "attempted surprise attack" by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which it said launched multiple ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in the region. The military said all of the missiles were "successfully intercepted."

"They've already apologized, but you know, we've got to smack them a little bit," the president told reporters in the Oval Office.

After a roughly three-day pause following weeks of fighting, the conflict has intensified again, drawing more countries into the war.

U.S. and Saudi forces conducted joint strikes Tuesday targeting an Iran-backed paramilitary group operating in Iraq, which the U.S. said were carried out in retaliation for more than 30 aerial drone attacks by Iranian proxy groups over the previous 72 hours.

The Jordanian military also said Wednesday that it had shot down five missiles that Iran's Revolutionary Guard said were fired in retaliation.

Egypt was also struck for the first time in the war, with two ships, including a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker, catching fire after an explosion at a shipping hub.

#iran #trump #saudi #cspan