TEHRAN, Iran: The Larak Island strike by US forces hit two Iranian launchers on Sunday, prompting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to report casualties and vow retaliation.
A US official said Revolutionary Guard forces had been preparing rockets carrying sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz when American forces struck the launchers on Larak Island in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province.
US Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins separately said Iranian forces had been observed preparing the launchers. The strike marked the first known US military attack on Iran since late July.
The IRGC said several Iranian fighters and civilians were killed or wounded but gave no precise casualty figure. It said Tehran would respond and punish those responsible.
Read: Iran’s Khamenei Muslim Unity Call Targets US, Israel
The confrontation came after the US military said it had completed mine-clearing work along international shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
As of Sunday, US forces said they had redirected 83 commercial vessels and disabled three while enforcing Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports.
Maritime risks remained high. United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile. 12 nautical miles north of Khasab, Oman, at 8:53 p.m. UTC on August 29, no casualties or environmental damage were reported.
Read: US-Iran Hormuz Truce Collapses as Attacks Spread
Separately, citizen journalist Vahid Online cited witness messages alleging missile launches from Khorramabad and later Kangavar in western Iran.
Those reports had not been independently verified, and no official statement had confirmed the launches at the time of publication.
