The United States has struck Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island, marking the first known American attack on Iran in weeks. The strike, carried out by drones according to Iran's Tasnim news agency, resulted in two fatalities and two injuries, Iranian state media reported. Larak Island is situated near the critical Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global shipping.
Iranian officials stated that the attack killed some civilians and is the first known U.S. strike on the country since late July. The IRGC's spokesman, Hossein Mohebbi, characterized the strike as a "strategic and fatal mistake by the Trump regime," warning that "the enemy will pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military fields."
This incident follows a renewed U.S. sanctions campaign announced on August 24, aimed at further isolating Tehran and expanding secondary sanctions against its allies. Iranian officials and state media have largely dismissed these sanctions as a continuation of previous U.S. economic measures, attributing them to Washington's perceived military failures in recent conflicts.
Last week, President Trump asserted that all mines placed in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran had been detonated or removed, and warned that any vessel deploying new mines would be destroyed. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi described Trump's claim as "propaganda."
The current tensions are a continuation of a conflict that began on February 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Iran retaliated by attacking Israel, U.S. bases, and allied states in the Gulf, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic for a period. Before the conflict began, approximately 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the strait. The Iran war has now crossed its six-month mark.