Trump vows hard response after Iran attacks U.S. bases in Jordan
Quick Look
- President Trump said the U.S. will respond forcefully after Iran launched missile and drone attacks on two U.S. bases in Jordan, retaliating for a U.S. strike on Iran's Larak Island that killed and wounded Iranian soldiers.
- U.S. defenses intercepted most incoming missiles, with one allowed to pass as non-threatening.
- The exchange marks the first direct U.S.-Iran strikes in over a month, with Iranian sources vowing disproportionate retaliation and warning of worsening conditions in the Strait of Hormuz.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The U.S. and Iran have been in a state of heightened tension, with periodic military exchanges. The U.S. recently cleared sea mines from the Strait of Hormuz and has been monitoring Iranian military activity, including preparations to launch rockets with sea mines. Iran views Larak Island as a strategic military outpost for monitoring shipping in the Strait.
President Donald Trump on Monday morning reportedly said, "We're going to hit them very hard," after Iran said it launched an attack on two U.S. bases in Jordan in response to an American strike on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.
"There will be a response," Trump said on a call to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, according to Yingst.
The president also reportedly told Fox that U.S. air defense systems intercepted all but one of the missiles launched at the bases by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and that the remaining missile was allowed to pass through after it was determined that it would not strike anything significant.
The Guard said the U.S. attack on Larak Island killed and wounded several Iranian soldiers, and that it responded with missile and drone attacks on the King Hussein and Al Azraq bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media reports.
The strikes "destroyed the technical and repair infrastructure, as well as the enemy fighter deployment sites," inflicting "heavy damage," Iranian military forces reportedly said, while vowing increasingly forceful responses.
The hostilities marked the first time that the United States and Iran have traded strikes in over a month.
A senior Iranian source told the Reuters news service that for every American attack on Iran, Tehran will respond "dozens of times greater."
"No target in the region is beyond Tehran's reach," the source told Reuters.
The source also said that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz will worsen for vessels that violate Tehran's rules for passage through the strategically critical waterway.
American forces hit two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday after the U.S. military said Tehran's Guard was preparing rockets carrying sea mines for launch into the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command confirmed to MS NOW.
"Earlier today U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz," Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, said in a statement to MS NOW.
"Last week, CENTCOM completed clearing sea mines from the strait's international shipping routes. U.S. forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway," he said.
Larak, a small Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, has become a key military and shipping control point for Tehran, used by the Guard to monitor vessel traffic through one of the world's most important maritime routes.
Sunday's attack was the first publicly acknowledged U.S. strike on Iranian positions since late July.
The back-and-forth strikes come as the U.S. Defense Department on Monday announced that it had reached seven-year procurement contracts with General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin to increase production quantities and speed up delivery schedules for "critical subcomponents" for systems used to intercept ballistic missiles.
The systems are Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement.
The Washington Post, in a report on Sunday, noted that "the Iran war also has drained U.S. supplies of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors — vital not only to the protection of American assets in the Middle East but to regional allies as well — and long-range Tomahawk missiles."
"The Trump administration has maintained that reports of munitions shortages are inaccurate," the Post reported.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The U.S. will launch additional military strikes against Iranian targets in retaliation for the attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan.
Likely · Within days
Iran will continue to threaten disproportionate retaliation, potentially targeting additional U.S. interests or allies in the region.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What specific damage occurred at the King Hussein and Al Azraq bases in Jordan?
- How many Iranian soldiers were killed or wounded in the U.S. strike on Larak Island?
- What are the exact terms and value of the seven-year procurement contracts with General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin?
- Will the U.S. deploy additional missile defense systems to the region in response to the attacks?



