Iran's 'surprise attack' ends U.S ceasefire. What it means for the war

WASHINGTON - A pause in fighting between the U.S. and Iran came to a screeching halt after Tehran launched what the Trump administration is calling a "surprise attack" that American forces in the Middle East had only minutes to shoot down. The July 28 ballistic missile assault threatened to reinvigorate a conflict that President Donald Trump has aimed to wind down after months of negotiations. Trump vowed the U.S. would "beat the f------ s--- out of them," he told Fox News. The latest attacks raised fears of a wider war as Saudi Arabia joined the conflict and Iran seeks to test Trump's resolve with the midterm elections looming. "We're going to be hitting them very hard because it's our turn to hit them. They know it's coming," Trump later told reporters at the White House. A total of 20 U.S. troops have died during the conflict to date. Saudi Arabia joined the United States in attacking fighters aligned with Iran, the Gulf state's Ministry of Defense announced Wednesday. Harding warned that the pattern of on-again, off-again fighting could continue through the fall, until after the midterm elections. "I think come mid-November, Trump has very little incentive to hold back and that's going to be a moment where he pushes very hard on the military front," she said. By Francesca Chambers and Michael Collins.