DUBAI — The United States and Iran traded fire on Sunday after American forces struck two launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US official.
The small Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz near the strategic port of Bandar Abbas overlooks shipping lanes at the mouth of the Gulf, giving it a key role in maritime security and global energy supplies.
The first known US strikes on Iran since late July killed two people and injured two others, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The IRGC said it had shot down a US drone over the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command said it had taken “limited, precise action” against “minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz”. It gave no details.
Iran responded by attacking US bases in Jordan, state media said. Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles early on Monday morning.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the attack killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens and vowed a “response and punishment” from Tehran, according to Iranian state media.
IRGC shot down a US MQ-9 drone over the Strait of Hormuz with air defense missiles, causing it to crash into Gulf waters, the Mehr news agency reported on Monday.
Iran’s energy hub of Kharg Island is being blown to smithereens, US President Donald Trump said on Sunday, after the US attack on Larak Island.
Attacking Kharg, which handled 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports before the war launched by US and Israeli attacks on February 28, would severely disrupt its energy trade and put huge pressure on its economy.
“Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!! President DJT,” Trump said on social media, but gave no further details.
The return to hostilities follows weeks in which the Trump administration has stepped up efforts to punish Tehran and its business partners with costly economic sanctions, shifting away from military options.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday new secondary sanctions were likely to be unveiled weekly in the effort to pressure Iran, with an initial focus on banks.
“We’re starting with the banks, and we’re telling the banks it’s not okay to have Iranian money and to aid the regime,” Bessent told Reuters in an interview.
After imposing penalties on the United Arab Emirates branches of Egypt’s Banque Misr on Friday over alleged financial links to Iran, Bessent said the next step may be cutting off an institution entirely from the dollar-based financial system.
“You’re going to see a lot more of these every week,” Bessent told Reuters, ahead of a meeting of Group of 20 finance leaders.
Amid threats to shipping, the number of visible commodity vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropped to five a day over the weekend, shipping data showed.
The actual number could be higher as some vessels have switched off automatic identification systems to evade attacks.
Last week, Trump said all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the strait and Iran had been warned that any vessel placing new mines would be destroyed.
While Trump has repeatedly said the Strait of Hormuz is open, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ navy had called those statements “an obvious lie,” reiterating that it remained closed to ships without Iranian permission.
Source: Saudi Gazette