U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Iran's Larak island on Sunday, a U.S. official said, marking the first known American strikes on Iran since late July.
Larak Island, Iran © Mena Today
U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Iran's Larak island on Sunday, a U.S. official said, marking the first known American strikes on Iran since late July.
"I can confirm that earlier today U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into Strait of Hormuz," the U.S. official said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and would be met with a "response and punishment" from Tehran, Iranian state media reported.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the U.S. carried out a drone strike on the island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran has been told that any ship or boat placing new mines will be destroyed.
The last known U.S. strikes on Iran were in late July as the war has reached a stalemate in recent weeks with Washington threatening to impose costly sanctions on countries that support Iran.
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host U.S. bases. The Iran war has now crossed its six-month mark.
U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. Eighteen U.S. service members have been killed in the conflict.
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.
By Kanishka Singh and Phil Stewart
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei urged Muslim countries, particularly those in the Gulf, to unite against what he called their "real enemy" and said divisions among Muslims served the interests of their adversaries.
The UAE Central Bank announced Saturday an inspection of Egyptian state-owned Banque Misr's UAE branches, targeted a day earlier by US sanctions over alleged involvement in financial transactions with Iran.
Iranian leaders are acknowledging the economic toll of war with the U.S., with the supreme leader urging the government to address the hardship and the president saying foreign trade has shrunk by a third due to the American sanctions and blockade.
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