US forces launched fresh airstrikes against Iran on Wednesday, hours after US President Donald Trump vowed to hit Tehran "very hard" in retaliation for what Washington called a surprise Iranian attack on American forces in the Middle East a day earlier.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed the strikes in a statement on X, saying, "U.S. forces began launching strikes against Iran at 8 p.m. ET today. The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday's attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. forces based in the Middle East."
U.S. forces began launching strikes against Iran at 8 p.m. ET today. The strikes are a powerful response to yesterday's attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. forces based in the Middle East.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) July 30, 2026
A US official separately told Axios that the American military "began conducting airstrikes in Iran today."
Speaking from the Oval Office earlier, Trump had signalled the scale of the response was imminent, telling reporters, "We're going to hit them (Iran) very hard... there's very little they can do about it. It was a different group than we're dealing with. They've already apologised. But, you know, we got to smack them a little bit."
#WATCH | US President Donald Trump says, "...We're going to hit them (Iran) very hard... there's very little they can do about it. It was a different group than we're dealing with. They've already apologized. But, you know, we got to smack them a little bit..."
— ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2026
(Source:… pic.twitter.com/jyGDBO2ZTD
In separate remarks carried by Rapid Response 47, a White House-linked account, Trump referenced the failed Iranian assault that preceded the strikes, "We're going to be hitting them very hard... We had five rockets shot going 8,500 mph, and all five rockets were knocked down to the ground — but they nevertheless took a shot, so it's our turn."
.@POTUS on Iran: "We're going to be hitting them very hard... We had five rockets shot going 8,500 mph, and all five rockets were knocked down to the ground — but they nevertheless took a shot, so it's our turn." pic.twitter.com/vG96gf2ZH4
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 29, 2026
ALSO READ: Iran Launches 'Surprise' Ballistic Missile Attack On US Bases After Days Of Unofficial Ceasefire
Unverified footage circulating on social media, including visuals shared by open-source monitor Faytuks Network, purportedly showed rocket systems being fired from Kuwait towards targets inside Iran.
WATCH: US sends HIMARS missiles from Kuwait to targets inside Iran. pic.twitter.com/nQ7uBxcdOS
— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) July 30, 2026
The latest strikes follow weeks of near-nightly US bombing of Iranian military and maritime sites, part of a campaign Washington says is meant to safeguard commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after alleging repeated Iranian attacks on vessels transiting the corridor.
A brief lull in hostilities over the preceding days had raised hopes of de-escalation, but these were dashed after Iran's overnight assault on US bases, which American officials said involved ballistic missiles that were all intercepted before reaching their targets.
The renewed exchange marks a fresh escalation in a conflict that has run for months, with Tehran and Washington trading blame over who broke the fragile pause.
ALSO READ: Hormuz Deadlock: Iran Rejects Oman's Proposal, Floats Temporary Plan With Bigger Say
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