On Wednesday, July 29th, 2026, Central Command (CENTCOM) announced it had thwarted an attempted surprise missile attack on US forces in the Middle East around 5:45 p.m. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for strikes on a US air base and military central command center in Jordan, according to the state-run Nour News agency.

In response, US and Saudi forces conducted strikes on multiple logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq. CENTCOM described these as a strong response to over 30 aerial drone attacks directed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the preceding 72 hours, which it labeled unwarranted.

The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of mainly Shia pro-Iranian militias, reported that several of its headquarters in Iraq were attacked and that several members were killed.

This sudden escalation shattered a brief period of calm that had followed weeks of rising tensions between the US and Iran over the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iran had previously suspended attacks amid renewed negotiations with the US but warned it would not allow Washington to dictate the timing of war and peace, maintaining that the Strait of Hormuz was closed.

President Donald Trump responded to the attacks with a menacing threat, vowing to “beat the f---ing s--- out of” Iran. “They’re going to get a beating,” Trump said, according to Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.

Andreas Krieg, a senior lecturer at King’s College London’s School of Security Studies, suggested that Iran’s surprise attack was intended to influence negotiations through force rather than signaling a departure from diplomacy.

Sources