US strikes Iranian launchers on Larak Island as Iran targets US bases in Jordan
The strikes targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz
US forces carried out drone strikes on two Iranian launchers on Larak Island, Iran, the US Central Command said, in the first known American strike on Iranian territory since late July.
The strikes targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz, Central Command said. The attack reportedly killed two people and injured two others, says the BBC.
Larak Island lies in the Strait of Hormuz, a major global shipping route that carried about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas before the current war began.
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Iran has been forcing tanker traffic passing through the strait to undergo inspections at the island and is reportedly demanding payments of $2 million (£1.5 million) from vessels seeking to cross.
US President Donald Trump recently said that all previously deployed Iranian mines had been cleared and warned that vessels deploying new mines would be destroyed. Iranian officials have dismissed those claims as propaganda.
In retaliation for the Larak Island strike, the IRGC launched ballistic missiles towards two US military bases in Jordan, the King Hussein and al-Azraq bases.
The IRGC said the attacks targeted technical infrastructure, maintenance facilities and positions for fighter jets, causing "heavy damage".
Jordan's military, however, said its air defence systems had intercepted eight missiles that entered its airspace at dawn.
The exchange marks an escalation in the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran as the war enters its seventh month.
The conflict began with wide-ranging US and Israeli strikes on 28 February, prompting Iranian counterattacks and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
