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Headline Roundup July 29th, 2026

IRGC Attempts 'Surprise Attack' on US Forces, Trump Promises 'Hard' Retaliation

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Iran launched an unsuccessful "surprise attack" on US forces in the Middle East on Tuesday, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), prompting a vulgar threat of retaliation from President Donald Trump.

The Details: "Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] forces launched multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on US forces based in the Middle East," CENTCOM reported on Tuesday. "All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted." Later that evening, it reported, "US and Saudi fighter aircraft[s] struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed [unsuccessful] aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours… The IRGC and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further US military response." The strikes left at least 20 dead, according to the Iran-backed Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces.

Hours before the IRGC launched its attacks, Trump said he would "finish the job" in Iran if its government didn't agree to a ceasefire deal. "I could take out most of their bridges in less than an hour," he said. "It really decimates a country. So those are the big things. And then there's always the desalination plants, and who am I hurting there? I'm hurting the people, so I'm not looking to do that. I just want, very simply, they cannot have a nuclear weapon."

RELATED: When It's Groundhog Day at the White House | AllSides

How The Media Covered It: CNBC (Lean Left bias) said the tensions "sen[t] oil surging, after prices declined for three straight days." New York Post (Right) instead highlighted, "Trump [is] focused on unlocking the Strait of Hormuz" to lower the prices. The Wall Street Journal (Center) reported, "Middle East analysts said the price of crude oil is an economic weapon that Iran has wielded effectively against the US."

Wall Street Journal analyzed the "violent escalation… piles new pressure on President Trump to renew the war in earnest," and, "With the unprompted missile attack, Iran showed it is willing to take the fight to the U.S. on its own terms in an attempt to force Trump's hand." New York Post framed the story more sensationally, emphasizing Trump's promise to "beat the f***ing s***" out of Iran in its headline.

RELATED: Outlets Across Spectrum Highlight Skepticism Surrounding Interim US-Iran Peace Deal | AllSides

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Featured Coverage of this Story

Trump says US will 'beat the f–king s–t' out of Iran after surprise missile attack
News

President Trump vowed Wednesday to "beat the f–king s–t out of" Iran in response to a surprise missile attack by the Islamic Republic targeting US troops stationed in Jordan.

"We'll be hitting them hard," Trump told Fox News chief foreign affairs correspondent Trey Yingst in a brief interview early Wednesday. "They're going to get a beating."

The president's warning came after the US and Saudi Arabia already launched joint strikes on Iran-aligned terrorists in Iraq on Tuesday following the attempted ambush.

US Central Command said Tuesday that the regime's Islamic...

Open on New York Post (News)
Iran Launches Surprise Missile Attack on U.S. Forces
Iran Launches Surprise Missile Attack on U.S. Forces

Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu/Getty Images

News

Iran launched a surprise ballistic-missile attack on American forces in Jordan, a U.S. official said, a violent escalation that piles new pressure on President Trump to renew the war in earnest.

The missiles were all successfully intercepted, the U.S. military said. But the assault raised the prospect that American forces would have to respond, just as negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and eventually jump-start broader peace talks were picking up speed...

Open on Wall Street Journal (News)
Trump says US will give Iran a 'beating' after surprise attack
News

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will order heavy strikes on Iran in retaliation for its "surprise attack" on U.S. forces overnight, which punctured a multiday pause in fighting in the Middle East.

"We'll be hitting them hard. They're going to get a beating," Trump told a Fox News reporter.

"We are going to beat the f------ s--- out of them," Trump added, according to Fox.

Iran targeted American forces in the Middle East with ballistic missiles late Tuesday stateside, U.S. Central Command said...

Open on CNBC

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