The US carried out strikes on Iran’s Larak Island on Sunday, killing and injuring several soldiers and civilians, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said. The attack marked the first US military action inside Iran since late July, breaking a month-long lull in direct fighting.
Larak Island lies near the narrowest point of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route that has remained heavily restricted since the war began. Explosions were heard near the island late on Sunday, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported.
US forces allegedly targeted two Iranian launchers based on the island, Axios reported, citing US Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins.
“Revolutionary Guard forces were observed preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz,” Hawkins said, without immediately providing supporting visual evidence.
The IRGC vowed retaliation, saying the attack had caused the “martyrdom and injury of several of our fighters and fellow citizens.”
The strike came less than a week after the US military said it had finished clearing sea mines from international shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington separately maintains a naval blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports.
The attack followed a relative lull in direct US military action against Iran. The last major US strikes inside the country were carried out on July 29, shortly after an Iranian missile attack on a US base in Jordan.
Last week, Washington announced what it called an “economic onslaught” against Iran, as the Trump administration shifted its emphasis from large-scale military action toward economic pressure. The move came amid reports of dwindling US stockpiles of critical munitions and interceptors, although President Donald Trump has vehemently denied that the military is running short.
The latest wave of US sanctions targets entities, individuals and vessels in multiple jurisdictions, with Washington saying it aims to isolate Tehran financially and cut off revenue available to the Iranian government.
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Former presidential counterterrorism adviser Joe Kent has warned that the latest US strike risks triggering a new cycle of escalation, calling for American troops to be withdrawn from the region.
“If Iran gets lucky & kills U.S. troops we will be sucked back into the war on Iran’s terms,” Kent wrote on X. “Troops out. Limit risk. Focus on economic pressure & diplomacy.”
The warning comes just days after Kent told Tucker Carlson that continued escalation with Iran could ultimately leave Washington facing a choice between a full-scale ground invasion and the use of nuclear weapons.
READ MORE: US could nuke Iran amid deadlock – ex-counterterrorism adviser
Nearly all incoming Iranian missiles targeting US forces in Jordan have been intercepted so far, Fox News reports citing an anonymous US source. No significant impacts have been reported, the source added.
Iranian forces reportedly launched missiles at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, according to multiple OSINT accounts.
Footage circulating online appears to show Patriot air-defense systems intercepting numerous incoming missiles over Jordan.
The base has previously come under Iranian attack, including a July strike that resulted in publicly acknowledged US military casualties.
Iranian missiles have reportedly been fired toward US vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Press TV.
Footage shared by the outlet purportedly shows missiles being launched from Iran at what it described as “enemy positions.” Press TV said it could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
The head of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Ebrahim Azizi, has threatened a “devastating” response to the US strike.
“Undoubtedly, no crime, at any level, goes unanswered; a response that is devastating, more painful, and instructive, which will complete the chain of your failures,” Azizi wrote in Farsi on X, adding: “Wait in fear and terror!”
“Test our will once more, and pay a heavier price. Retaliation is coming; JUST RUN!” he warned in a separate English-language post.
US Central Command has confirmed carrying out the strike on Iran’s Larak Island. CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told Axios IRGC forces had been “preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has confirmed that Larak Island was struck by US forces, saying several of its personnel and civilians were killed or injured. The statement opened with a pledge that Iran would “surely take retribution from the criminals” and said the attack would be met with a response “that includes punishment for the aggressor.”
“This action will be answered by the sons of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the aggressors will face definite punishment,” the IRGC said. It accused the “American-Zionist enemy” of acting out of “desperation over internal problems” and declining credibility in the region, describing the strike as another attempt to “revive its sinister role and sway public opinion.”
US forces have carried out a strike on Iran’s Larak Island, targeting two launchers, Axios reported, citing a US official. The official claimed that IRGC forces had been preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz.
Explosions have been heard near Iran’s Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported.