U.S. forces carry out an attack on Iranian rocket launchers on Larak island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a U.S. official cited by multiple outlets. The strike is described as the first publicly acknowledged U.S. military action in nearly a month, breaking a lull in an intermittent campaign that has been underway for more than six months.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards respond by saying the attack kills and wounds fighters and civilians and vows to punish those responsible. Several outlets report that Iranian semiofficial channels describe explosions near Larak island, while U.S. officials characterize the launchers as being used in ways that could affect maritime activity. One outlet also notes that the U.S. completes clearing sea mines from parts of the strait’s international shipping routes just days before the strike.
Outlets differ mainly in emphasis: some focus on the “first action in weeks” aspect, others on the claim that the launchers relate to deploying sea mines, and others on the timing in relation to U.S. efforts that include increased economic pressure rather than new military steps.
