Trump says US to hit Iran 'hard' after attack on bases in Jordan

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. military will be hitting Iran "hard" after a missile attack against U.S. bases in Jordan, Fox News reported.

"We'll be hitting them hard. They're going to get a beating," Fox's correspondent quoted Trump as saying, adding that the U.S. president used swear words to emphasize his point: "We are going to beat the 'effing s' out of them."

Iran launched a barrage of missiles at American forces in the Middle East early Wednesday as the U.S. partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Tehran-backed militias in neighboring Iraq, killing at least 20 fighters.

Trump said the US-Saudi bombing of pro-Iranian militias overnight inside Iraq had been coordinated with the authorities in Baghdad, Fox News reported.

Trump's reported assertion came as Iraq's presidency denounced the U.S.-Saudi attacks as a "blatant violation of Iraq's sovereignty."

The flare-up on multiple fronts, after several days of relative calm, raised the risk of a return to all-out war. It also underscored the difficulty of winding down a five-month conflict that has jolted the world economy and is unpopular among Americans. It was also likely to add to concerns that the U.S. is further drawing down already diminished stockpiles of sophisticated munitions needed to defend its bases and allies.