US strikes launchers on Iran's Larak Island in first known attack in weeks

Key Points:

• US forces conducted strikes on two Iranian launchers on Larak Island, marking the first known American attack on Iran since late July, targeting IRGC forces preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
• The IRGC reported that the US attack killed two people and injured two others, vowing retaliation, and subsequently launched ballistic missile attacks on US military bases in Jordan, causing "heavy damage" according to Iranian sources.
• Larak Island, near the strategic port of Bandar Abbas and the vital Strait of Hormuz, is a key checkpoint where Iran reportedly forces vessels to pay $2 million to pass, intensifying tensions in the region.
• The US strike follows President Trump's earlier warning that any new mines placed by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz would be destroyed, amid ongoing economic sanctions and heightened military and economic pressure on Tehran.
• Iranian officials condemned the US attack as a "strategic and fatal mistake," promising consequences in both economic and military domains, while dismissing recent US sanctions as an extension of previous measures after Washington's perceived military setbacks.