US strikes Iranian missile launchers near Strait of Hormuz for first time in over a month
According to CNN, US forces on Sunday struck Iranian missile launch sites on Larak Island near the Strait of Hormuz for the first time in more than a month. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has vowed to retaliate.
US military forces on Sunday struck Iran's Larak Island, located near the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, CNN reported, citing a US official and Iranian media. The outlet noted it was the first American strike in over a month.
According to CNN's sources, forces had been observed on the island preparing to launch missiles carrying mines into the Strait of Hormuz. The official said US forces hit two Iranian missile launch sites on the island. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported that residents heard an explosion near Larak Island on Sunday.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's key shipping routes and remains at the center of regional tensions and diplomatic efforts. President Donald Trump's administration said last week that US Central Command had finished clearing international shipping lanes in the waterway of naval mines. On Tuesday, Trump also said Iran had been told that any vessel or boat laying new mines would be "immediately and systematically destroyed."
A US official told CNN that American forces are closely monitoring the area and remain ready to defend the free flow of trade through the vital waterway.
Iran's response
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed on Sunday to respond to the US strike on Larak Island, saying it had caused casualties among Iranian military personnel and civilians. A Guard spokesman, in a statement carried by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, called the action a "strategic and fatal mistake" by the Trump administration.
Background
Days before the strike, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told several foreign counterparts that the US did not plan new strikes on Iran in the near term, intending instead to focus on other forms of pressure. On August 17, Trump called on Iran to raise a "white flag" and end the conflict with the United States, having earlier said he planned to declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory once the US "completed the defeat" of Iran. Iran responded that the strait cannot be seized by a tweet, an aircraft carrier, an executive order, or a campaign speech. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the military has enough resources to maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely. On August 24, Washington launched an operation called "Economic Exile," expanding secondary sanctions against those cooperating with Tehran and imposing new restrictions on key sectors of Iran's economy.
