US Strikes Iranian Launchers on Larak Island in Hormuz

The Strike on Larak Island

United States forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said, in the first publicly confirmed American attack on Iran in weeks.

Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesperson, said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces "were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz". CENTCOM described it as "limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat".

Larak is a small island off the port of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran, sitting on the strait itself. CNBC reports it has become a military and shipping-control point used by the Revolutionary Guard to monitor vessel traffic.

Casualty accounts differ. The BBC reports the IRGC said the attack killed two people and injured two others, while CNN cites Iranian state media reporting casualties among both Iranian forces and civilians, and CNBC says the IRGC reported several soldiers killed and wounded.

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Iran's Response in Jordan

The IRGC called the US attack a "strategic and deadly mistake" and vowed retaliation. Hossein Mohebbi, an IRGC spokesman quoted by the BBC, said the "enemy will pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military fields".

Hours later, Iranian media carried an IRGC statement saying it had struck the King Hussein and Al Azraq air bases in Jordan with ballistic missiles and drones, claiming "heavy damage" to technical and maintenance infrastructure and fighter jet positions.

Jordan's armed forces said air defence systems intercepted and destroyed eight missiles that entered the kingdom's airspace at dawn on Monday, according to the state-run Petra news agency. The military said the projectiles were neutralised before they could threaten civilians or property.

The sources do not report any independent confirmation of the damage the IRGC claims.

Six Months of Conflict

TIME reports the war began on 28 February and that the last confirmed US strike before Sunday was on 29 July, a "heavy wave" against dozens of IRGC targets. On 1 August, President Donald Trump said he had agreed to "hold off" further strikes at the request of regional allies.

The fighting has centred on the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil supply previously passed. The US Navy has blockaded Iranian ports to press Tehran into reopening the route, while Iran targets vessels that avoid the northern lane near its coast.

Trump said last week that all Iranian mines in the strait had been detonated or removed. The BBC reports that hours after Sunday's strike, he posted apparent AI videos on Truth Social of exploding oil infrastructure, one captioned "Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!", referring to Iran's main oil export terminal. His post did not elaborate.