US President Donald Trump has vowed to deliver “a beating” to Iran after the latest attacks on US military sites in the Middle East. The comments come just hours after he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
According to sources, Trump made his threat during an expletive-laden interview with Fox News reporter Trey Yingst on Wednesday. In the conversation, Yingst reported that President Trump promised “to beat the f***ing s*** out of them”. The comments were met with a stern warning from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which said it would continue to target US forces in Jordan.
The latest salvo comes after 13 consecutive days of attacks by Iran, including an airbase and CENTCOM centre in Jordan. All the missiles were intercepted, but “US forces remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness”, according to CENTCOM.
Experts have warned that despite US military superiority, Iran maintains the ability to conduct a grinding asymmetrical war. At least 18 American soldiers have been killed since the war began in February.
The latest Iranian attacks are part of a five-month-long conflict between the two nations. The US paused its strikes for several days starting on Saturday, following 13 consecutive days of attacks. A ceasefire was reached last month as part of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Washington and Tehran.
Trump’s remarks threaten to derail the latest detente, which has been in place since February when Iran agreed not to attack US forces in exchange for a halt to airstrikes on its territory. The agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was reached after 13 consecutive days of attacks by Iran.
The US and Israel have diverged on whether and how to continue the conflict, with Israel pushing for continued military action against Iran’s nuclear program while the US has sought ceasefires that would allow it to frame the conflict as a strategic victory. Trump himself has alternated between calls for diplomacy and threats of escalation throughout the war.
Public opinion polls show low US support for the war, even among members of Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. The latest poll results were released in April, showing that 44% of Americans oppose the war while only 23% support it.
The White House has offered a more staid response to Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump, describing the conversation as “positive and productive”. However, experts say that the US is still grappling with the consequences of its military actions against Iran.
Based on reporting from Al Jazeera.
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