US forces have struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island after Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces were reportedly seen preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
The strike, confirmed by a US official, is the first known American attack on Iran since late July and comes amid renewed tensions over the strategic waterway, through which a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed before the war.
US Central Command (Centcom) spokesman Cdr Tim Hawkins told CBS News that IRGC forces had been observed “preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into Strait of Hormuz”.
The IRGC said the attack on Sunday killed and wounded several people and vowed “response and punishment”.
Iranian state media later reported that the IRGC had launched ballistic missile attacks against US military targets in Jordan in response to the strike.
Jordan’s armed forces said its air defence systems intercepted eight missiles that entered the country’s airspace early on Monday.
“Air defense systems intercepted eight missiles that breached the Kingdom’s airspace at dawn today, Monday,” the army said in a statement carried by state news agency Petra.
The US strike targeted Larak Island, which lies just offshore from Bandar Abbas and close to the Strait of Hormuz.
The island has become strategically important during the conflict, with Iran requiring tanker traffic to pass through the area for checks and reportedly charging vessels up to $2m to cross.
Hossein Mohebbi, an IRGC spokesman, described the US attack as a “strategic and fatal mistake by the Trump regime”.
He warned that the “enemy will pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military fields”.
Iranian news agency Tasnim, which is affiliated with the IRGC, reported that the attack was carried out by drones and said two people were killed and two others injured.
The IRGC later said its missile strikes on the US bases of King Hussein and al-Azraq in Jordan caused “heavy damage”. It said the attacks targeted “technical infrastructure, maintenance facilities, and enemy fighter jet positions”, according to an AFP translation.
The latest escalation follows President Donald Trump’s warning last week that any new attempt by Iran to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz would be met with military action.
Trump said all mines placed in the waterway by Iran had been detonated or removed.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi dismissed that claim as “propaganda” and a deception.
Washington has also increased economic pressure on Tehran, announcing a fresh sanctions campaign on August 24 aimed at further isolating Iran and expanding secondary sanctions against its allies.
The latest confrontation comes more than six months after the US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on February 28. Iran responded with attacks on Israel, US bases and allied states in the Gulf, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz to marine traffic.
Before the conflict, about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas travelled through the vital waterway.