US forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, the first known American military action against Iran since President Donald Trump paused a renewed military campaign in late July. The strikes targeted equipment that Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were preparing to use.
According to the BBC, CBS News quoted US Central Command spokesman Commander Tim Hawkins saying that "Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into Strait of Hormuz." The launchers were destroyed before any mines reached the water.
Larak Island sits just offshore from the key port of Bandar Abbas and directly on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil shipping. Iran has reportedly been forcing tanker traffic to pass by the island for inspections, with vessels allegedly required to pay $2 million to cross. Trump said last week that all mines Iran had placed in the strait had been detonated or removed, and warned that any ship or boat deploying new mines would be destroyed. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi called that claim a "propaganda" deception.
Hours after the American strikes, the IRGC announced its own attack. Iranian state media reported that the IRGC had fired ballistic missiles at the US bases of King Hussein and al-Azraq in Jordan. The IRGC claimed it caused "heavy damage" and targeted "technical infrastructure, maintenance facilities, and enemy fighter jet positions," according to a translation from the AFP news agency.
Jordan's military confirmed it had responded. "Air defense systems intercepted eight missiles that breached the Kingdom's airspace at dawn today, Monday," Jordan's armed forces said in a statement, quoting the army's spokesperson as reported by the state Petra News Agency.
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi called the American strike a "strategic and fatal mistake by the Trump regime" and said the "enemy will pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military fields." The IRGC also said Sunday's strike killed and wounded several people, though specific numbers varied across reports. Iran's Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, said two people were killed and two others injured, and reported the attack was carried out by drones.
The strikes come days after Washington announced a fresh sanctions campaign on August 24 aimed at further isolating Tehran economically. The BBC has approached US Central Command for additional comment.
