Trump Threatens Iran With 'Devastating Defeat'
- Reuters: Iran to receive Chinese missile systems within weeks
- Houthis consider imposing fees on ships in the Red Sea
President Donald Trump vowed to launch strong strikes against Iran, hours after U.S. forces intercepted a ballistic missile attack targeting their positions in Jordan, describing Iraq’s armed groups as a “cancer in the world.”
He added, “I will let them keep talking, and the United States will strike them in response to the attacks that targeted U.S. positions in Jordan.”
He clarified that U.S. forces had only minutes to respond to the surprise attack and that they shot down the missiles before they reached their targets.
For its part, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in a post on the X platform that “precision strikes in Iraq targeted terrorists whom the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had directed to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.”
It added that “U.S. and Saudi fighter jets conducted raids on multiple terrorist logistical and weapons sites across eastern Iraq,” calling on the IRGC and its terrorist proxies to “halt these attacks to avoid further retaliation.”
For her part, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) announced that 20 of its members were killed and 32 others injured in strikes that hit seven provinces, while the Hamshahri newspaper reported that four military advisors from the IRGC were killed.
Washington also struck the Piranshahr area in northwestern Iran, hours after the IRGC announced it had launched missiles toward an air base and a CENTCOM facility in Jordan, threatening to continue attacks as long as “threats persist.”
The U.S. military confirmed that its defenses intercepted all missiles launched in an “attempted surprise attack” against U.S. forces in the Middle East, without specifying target locations.
In a related development, three informed sources told Reuters that Iran is expected to receive within weeks the first shipment of up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air defense systems, as part of its efforts to rebuild its defenses, while Beijing denied the report.
For his part, Yemeni Media Minister Moamer al-Eryani accused the Houthi rebels of collaborating with Iran to impose fees on ships in the Red Sea and the strategically vital Bab al-Mandab Strait.
