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US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday night, and Iran answered within hours with missile and drone attacks on American bases across the Gulf, according to Al Jazeera. US Central Command said the launchers were preparing to fire missiles carrying naval mines into the waterway.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the raid killed and wounded several soldiers and civilians on Larak, a military post that overlooks shipping lanes near the port of Bandar Abbas. Central Command rejected Iran's claim that the strike was an act of aggression and called it limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces, NPR reported. A CENTCOM spokesperson said US forces had finished clearing sea mines from the strait's international shipping routes only last week.
Iran retaliated with ballistic missiles aimed at the King Hussein and Al Azraq bases in Jordan, which it said had supported the American attack. Jordan's armed forces said they intercepted eight missiles that breached the kingdom's airspace at dawn on Monday. Iran also launched drones at the Al Menhad airbase in the United Arab Emirates. The UAE said it downed a drone over its territorial waters and denied that the base had been hit.
In a separate incident, a supertanker caught fire after striking two naval mines in the strait. Iranian forces said the vessel had tried to pass without permission and warned that any ship breaking Iran's navigation restrictions would face the same treatment. The clash was the first active exchange between the two sides since late July, when President Trump ordered US forces to hold off on further strikes.
The confrontation follows the new US sanctions on Iran's oil and shipping networks announced last week. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was "not looking for war" but would not sit still in the face of aggression. Now in its seventh month, the war has disrupted global oil supply and jolted the world economy, and Iran says it will not reopen the strait until the US honors earlier commitments.
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