U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, marking Washington’s first publicly acknowledged military action against Iran in roughly a month and ending a lull in the countries’ intermittent six-month conflict.
U.S. Central Command said Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces had been observed preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the strait, a critical global shipping route. A CENTCOM spokesperson described the operation as a “limited, precise action” against minelaying forces posing an imminent threat, rejecting Iranian characterizations of the strike as unprovoked aggression.
Timing and context
The strike came just days after the U.S. military said it had finished clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping lanes. It was the first American strike on Iranian soil since July 29, when U.S. forces carried out a broader wave of attacks on dozens of IRGC-linked sites, including command centers and missile and drone facilities.
In the weeks between, President Donald Trump said on August 1 that he had agreed to hold off on further strikes at the request of regional allies, and Washington had shifted its emphasis toward economic pressure, including a fresh round of sanctions aimed at isolating Iran financially.
Iranian response
Iran’s IRGC confirmed the strike caused casualties among its forces and civilians and vowed retaliation, describing the attack as the work of the “American-Zionist enemy.” Iranian state television later showed what it said were ballistic missiles fired at U.S. bases in Jordan in response. Jordan’s armed forces said they intercepted eight missiles that entered the country’s airspace early Monday.
The exchange underscores the fragility of the ceasefire that had held for much of the past month, as the broader U.S.-Israel war with Iran enters its seventh month.
