U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to hit Iran "very hard" after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched ballistic missiles at American forces stationed in Jordan on July 28 or 29. Trump said all five missiles were intercepted, a claim echoed by Jordan, which said it downed the incoming projectiles. The IRGC claimed responsibility for targeting a U.S. airbase and command center.
Trump attributed the strike to a faction within Iran's leadership and suggested that Iran may have acquired 400 missile launchers from China via Pakistan. The attack came days after Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on July 28 and follows the killing of three U.S. soldiers at a Jordanian airbase on July 17.
On the same day as the missile launch, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes in Iraq that left 20 dead and 32 wounded among the Hashd al-Shaabi. Meanwhile, a Quinnipiac University poll found only 34% of U.S. voters back military action against Iran.