Iran fired "multiple" ballistic missiles at American forces in the Middle East overnight in what the US military described as "an attempted surprise attack."

The strikes took place at 10.45pm BST, though US Central Command (Centcom) did not reveal which locations were targeted.

It later emerged the strikes had targeted a US base in Jordan.

All missiles were "successfully intercepted," Centcom said - before US and Saudi Arabian forces smashed "multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites" in Iraq.

Centcom said the retaliatory action was "a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours".

Earlier on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia had shot down drones aimed at petroleum facilities in its eastern region.

https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/iran-surprise-attack-american-bases-jordan-donald-trump-saudi-arabia

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/world-news/iran-fires-missiles-military-bases-34367866.amp

U.S. troops deployed to the Middle East are bracing for the seizure of their phones after a viral video of a deadly Iranian attack left President Donald Trump answering for the deaths of two soldiers, according to a new report.

The top U.S. commander for the Middle East warned troops in a July 28 letter that cell-phone videos shared online were helping Iran assess the damage from its own strikes

In Jordan, some troops have already been told their phones will be taken in the coming days, Reuters reported.

Footage posted by the open-source account OSINTtechnical on X circulated on July 17 before CENTCOM confirmed that two American service members had been killed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan during an Iranian missile and drone attack, Times Now reported.

Reuters reported that the prospect of confiscations was already rattling families at home — writing that "the possible seizure of phones has stoked anxiety among some family members, already on edge in recent months as they read Iranian claims of deadly strikes on bases throughout the Middle East."

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of CENTCOM, argued in his letter that open-source reporting was effectively doing Iran's targeting work for them.

"Detailed lists, descriptions, and analyses of what was hit, openly published by news outlets are essentially performing Iran's Battle Damage Assessment [a military term for evaluating strike damage] for them, free of charge," Cooper wrote, Reuters reported.

A service member's Meta smart glasses recorded footage posted to Instagram showing troops evacuating to a bunker during the July 17 attack — the kind of open-source exposure, Cooper wrote, that forced Trump to defend the war publicly before the Pentagon could control the narrative.

Russia banned smartphones for soldiers in 2019 after open-source journalists used troops' social media posts to expose secret military operations in Ukraine and Syria, the BBC reported.

Cooper stopped short of ordering specific steps, and a third source told Reuters the confiscations were not yet confirmed region-wide.

US troops brace to surrender phones after deadly attack video sullied Trump: report

That should do wonders for morale!