US President Donald Trump warned Tehran was “going to get a beating” for an attempted Iranian attack on US forces in the Middle East. Speaking to Fox News, the US president said, “We are going to beat the f**king sh*t out of them.” DailyNews Digest
It comes hours after joint strikes by Washington and Riyadh against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, in response to attacks on US forces and Saudi oil facilities, fracturing tenuous diplomacy.
Trump added that the US coordinated with Iraqi officials before the assault on Iran-aligned militias in Iraq. Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi postponed a planned trip to Riyadh, citing “today’s events.”
The US-Saudi strikes triggered fierce criticism from multiple wings of Iraqi politics, with former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani cautioning against a “dangerous overstep of the principle of Islamic brotherhood.”
The umbrella group for Iran-aligned Iraqi militias targeted in the salvo — the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) — echoed warnings of a “highly dangerous escalation.”
At least 20 people were killed and 32 others injured by US and Saudi forces’ strikes on Iran-aligned Iraqi militias, according to the PMF. US Central Command said it hit “multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq,” which followed strikes by Iran-backed armed groups on US forces and Saudi oil infrastructure.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have not asked for negotiations with Washington over the past two weeks, according to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, contradicting claims that Iran was eager for talks.
Additionally, Jordanian air defenses intercepted five missiles launched by Tehran early Wednesday local time, according to a military spokesperson, hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced strikes on US military targets in the Arab nation.