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Larak Island Strike
US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Iran’s Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, marking the first known American strikes on Iran since late July.
“"Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into Strait of Hormuz"”
A US official said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait of Hormuz, and the BBC quoted US Central Command spokesman Cdr Tim Hawkins saying, "Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into Strait of Hormuz."
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the attack killed and wounded several people and vowed "response and punishment," while the IRGC did not provide a precise casualty toll.
The BBC reported that Iran is currently making tanker traffic pass by this island for checking and reportedly forcing vessels to pay $2m (£1.5m) to cross, and CNN said residents reported hearing an explosion near Larak Island on Sunday.
The strikes came as the US said it had finished clearing all mines from the strait’s main shipping lane earlier this month, with President Donald Trump warning that any ship or boat placing new mines would be destroyed.
Retaliation Threats
Iran’s IRGC vowed retaliation after the Larak Island strike, with a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster saying the attack would be met with punishment and that the "action was a strategic and deadly mistake" by the Trump administration.
Al Jazeera reported that the IRGC confirmed the attack by the “American-Zionist enemy” and said it resulted in the killing and injuring of several soldiers, adding, "This act will be responded to by the sons of Islamic Iran and will result in punishment of the aggressor,".
In a separate warning, the head of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission, Ebrahim Azizi, posted on X that "Retaliation is coming," and also told Washington: "JUST RUN!"
Reuters reported that a US source said Iran launched an attack on US forces in Jordan in apparent retaliation, and that all incoming missiles had been intercepted with no significant impact so far.
The BBC also quoted Hossein Mohebbi, the IRGC’s spokesman, calling the attack a "strategic and fatal mistake by the Trump regime" and saying that the "enemy will pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military fields".
Economic Pressure and Stakes
The Larak Island strike unfolded as the US shifted toward financial pressure, with Al Jazeera saying the US shifts from the bombing campaign to a financial pressure strategy as the US-Israel war on Iran enters its seventh month.
“calling it an “economic D-Day.””
CNN reported that the White House said there are no ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran regarding the six-month war, while the US Treasury Department threatened damaging new sanctions on countries that refuse to cut economic ties with Iran, calling it an "economic D-Day."
Reuters, via the Global Banking & Finance Review, said the war has led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which before the conflict used to see a transit of about a fifth of the world’s oil barrels consumed.
Fox News tied the conflict to energy-market disruption and said the war with Iran has sharply curtailed oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, while also stating that the US’ Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen below 300 million barrels.
Al Jazeera added that the strikes risk renewing the military confrontation even as the US has been claiming control over the strategic waterway, and it noted that attacks on ships in Hormuz have been reported almost daily while Iran has maintained that the strait is closed.