The United States has launched an airstrike targeting two launch centers on Iran’s strategically vital Larak Island, marking the first known direct U.S. attack on Iran since late July. U.S. Central Command spokesman Commander Tim Hawkins stated that the strike was carried out after troops from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were spotted preparing to lay naval mines and fire rockets in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media and the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency reported that the attack was executed via drones, leaving two people dead and two others injured.
In response to the strike, the Revolutionary Guard warned of swift retaliation and subsequently launched ballistic missiles targeting U.S. military sites in Jordan. The Jordanian military confirmed that its air defense systems intercepted eight missiles entering its airspace on Monday morning. IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi condemned the U.S. action as a “strategic and fatal mistake” by the Trump administration, warning that Washington would face severe economic and military consequences.
Larak Island, located near the crucial port of Bandar Abbas, holds immense geopolitical significance due to its position in the Strait of Hormuz—a maritime chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s petroleum and liquefied natural gas previously flowed. Tensions in the region have escalated sharply following reports that Iran has been stopping oil tankers for inspection and demanding up to $2 million per vessel to pass through the strait.
This military engagement follows a series of escalating actions, including major joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February and newly announced U.S. economic sanctions on August 24 aimed at isolating Tehran and its allies. While U.S. President Donald Trump recently claimed that all Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz had been cleared or detonated, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi dismissed the statement as “propagandistic illusion,” highlighting the volatile state of relations between the two nations.
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