Iran live updates: Trump says US will hit Iran 'hard' following Jordan missile attack

The Departments of State and Treasury have announced new sanctions targeting IRGC-backed entities accused of running "coercive 'insurance' schemes" to extort vessels in the Strait of Hormuz by charging fees for protection against risks created by the Iranian regime itself, as well as eight companies the administration says have facilitated Iranian oil exports to China and the UAE.

The move brings the total number of Iranian shadow fleet vessels sanctioned by the U.S. this year to over 100.

"The United States will continue to hold Iran accountable for weaponizing vital international waterways and evading sanctions through shadow fleet operations and deceptive financial schemes,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said.

"Protecting navigational rights and freedoms in the Strait of Hormuz is a global interest, and the United States will act, alongside partners, to ensure Iran cannot hold international commerce hostage to finance its malign activities," Pigott said.

President Donald Trump is pledging the U.S. will respond to an overnight missile attack launched by Iran.

Describing the missile attack as a surprise, Trump told Fox News on Wednesday, "we'll be hitting them [Iran] hard” and added, "they're going to get a beating."

Trump said U.S. forces at the targeted facilities shot down the incoming missiles and had only minutes to respond to what U.S. Central Command called an "attempted surprise attack."

Commenting on overnight U.S.-Saudi strikes on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, Trump said the Tehran-aligned groups were a "cancer on the world."

On Tuesday’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the president said that it was a great meeting and said that he believes his relationship with Netanyahu is strengthening.

Trump said that the meeting was great in terms of possible talks with the Iranian regime, and pledged that the U.S. is going to allow negotiators to keep talking. The Iranians have repeatedly rejected that there are ongoing talks.

Jordan's official Petra news agency said the country's air defenses shot down five missiles fired from Iran on Wednesday morning.

The Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday posted a statement to X condemning what it called "reprehensible drone attacks carried out against the Kingdom by Iran-backed militias in Iraq, and reaffirming the Kingdom's determination to deter the perpetrators and its right to respond."

The statement said that the joint U.S.-Saudi strikes "were undertaken in the exercise." The ministry added that Riyadh "does not seek escalation," but "should it be subjected to any further attacks, it will not hesitate to take all necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty and protect its citizens and national assets."

The ministry posted the statement hours after U.S. and Saudi forces launched airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The strikes were a response to three days of attacks on Saudi energy sites launched from inside Iraq.

The Saudi ministry said it was "exerting every effort to help de-escalate tensions in the region in a manner that preserves its security and stability."

"These Iran-backed terrorist militias chose a reckless path of escalation, in blatant violation of international law, in disregard of the obligations of Islamic brotherhood, including adherence to the principles of good neighborliness," it added.

-ABC News' Clark Bentson