US strikes Iranian launchers on Larak Island in first known attack in weeks

ByRuth Comerford and Ghoncheh Habibiazad.

Key points

• US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Iran's Larak island on Sunday, a US official remarked, the first known American strikes on Iran since late July.
• Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi described Trump's claim as a "propaganda" deception.
• Larak Island is just offshore from the key port of Bandar Abbas, and sits right on the Strait of Hormuz.
• US President Donald Trump remarked last week that all mines‌ had been detonated or removed from the Strait of Hormuz.
• Some 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas applied to transit the Strait of Hormuz before the war.

"Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into Strait of Hormuz, " the BBC's US partner CBS News quoted US Central Command spokesman Commander Tim Hawkins as saying.

Meanwhile, the IRCG remarked the attack on Sunday killed and wounded a number of individuals and vowed "response and punishment".

It marks the first known US strike in Iran since President Trump paused a renewed military campaign in late July. Earlier this month, the US military remarked it had finished clearing all mines from the strait's main shipping lane. How the US could try to seize Iran's Kharg Island.

US intends to cut off military aid to key Middle East ally, BBC informed.

Iran notes it is 'fully prepared' to counter widened US economic sanctions.

Iran is at present making tanker traffic pass by this island for checking and reportedly forcing vessels to pay $2m (£1.5m) to cross.

Hossein Mohebbi, IRGC's spokesman called the attack a "strategic and fatal mistake by the Trump regime" and remarked that the "enemy will pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military fields".

Iran's Tasnim news agency. It is affiliated with the IRGC, remarked earlier that the attack was carried out by drones. Reports indicate that two individuals were killed and two others injured, it stated.

US President Donald Trump remarked last week that all mines‌ had been detonated or removed from the Strait of Hormuz. He remarked Iran has been cautioned that any ship or boat deploying new mines will be destroyed.

Iran is facing renewed US economic pressure after Washington confirmed a fresh sanctions campaign on 24 August aimed at further isolating Tehran and expanding secondary sanctions against its allies.

Iranian authorities and state media have largely dismissed the campaign as a continuation of previous US pressure. It they argue followed Washington's military failure in the recent conflict.

For context, the US and Israel introduced wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February, with Iran responding by attacking Israel and US-allied states in the Gulf, and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz. The Iran war has now crossed its six-month mark.

Along with closing the strait, Iran retaliated against Israel and against US bases in the region as well as US Arab allies in the Gulf. The US additionally unveiled a raft of economic sanctions against Iran.

For now, US strikes Iranian launchers on Larak Island in first known attack in remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.