US President Donald Trump on Wednesday vowed a strong military response against Iran following ballistic missile attacks targeting American forces in the Middle East a day earlier.
"We'll be hitting them hard," Trump said in an interview with media. "They're going to get a beating."
Despite the warning, Trump said his administration would continue to allow Iranian officials to participate in ongoing negotiations.
Iraqi president condemns Saudi-US strikes on PMF as sovereignty violation
The US president also said he was considering issuing additional warnings to Iran-backed groups operating across the region.
Earlier, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said US and Saudi fighter jets carried out strikes on several logistics and weapons facilities in eastern Iraq on Tuesday night. The operation came in response to more than 30 drone attacks allegedly directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over the previous 72 hours.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi presidency strongly condemned the US-Saudi airstrikes targeting the country's paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), describing them as "unacceptable aggression" and a "flagrant violation of Iraq's sovereignty."