The Daily BriefEvening Briefing · Wednesday 29 July 2026 · 17:40 BST
Evening Briefing · Wednesday 29 July 2026

Trump Vows to Hit Iran Hard as US Strikes Iraqi Militias

President Trump vowed to hit Iran “hard” after Iranian forces again fired missiles at American troops in Jordan, as the war that reignited overnight widened through the day. US and Saudi warplanes struck Iran-aligned militias in Iraq, and Iraqi sources said around twenty fighters were killed. Central Command described the latest Iranian barrage as an intercepted “surprise attack”.

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The strikes in Iraq’s Diyala province appeared to kill at least five Iranian military advisers, whose coffins, draped in Iranian flags, were carried through Baghdad — a rare independent confirmation amid competing claims. Mr Trump, fresh from a record seventh White House meeting with Israel’s prime minister, abandoned the language of the collapsed truce for open threats, while Iran’s president urged his people to “stand firm”. The higher casualty figures come from the combatants and cannot be independently verified. The five-month war is now spilling well beyond Iran’s borders. Watch whether Mr Trump orders direct strikes on Iran itself.

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