US President Donald Trump vowed a strong response after an Iranian ballistic missile attack was intercepted over Jordan overnight.

“We will defeat them completely,” Trump told Fox News on Wednesday morning (July 29), adding: “We will hit them hard.”

Trump said U.S. forces had only a few minutes to respond to the surprise attack and shoot down the missiles before they reached their targets. He said he had reviewed video footage showing U.S. personnel entering coordinates in real time during the interception.

He also said that U.S. and Saudi Arabian strikes against Iran-backed Shiite militias in Iraq had been coordinated with the Iraqi government. He described the militias as a “cancer on the world” and said additional warnings against Iran were being considered.

The Jordanian military said today that it had intercepted five Iranian missiles, while Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed that it had targeted U.S. military facilities in Jordan.

The journalist also asked Trump about the strikes carried out by the United States and Saudi Arabia against positions held by pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq, in response to attacks on American targets and Saudi oil facilities.

“The U.S. president said the strikes were carried out in coordination with the Iraqi government,” the journalist reported.

The resumption of hostilities in the Middle East comes after several days of calm in the conflict.