US forces have carried out strikes on two Iranian launchers on Larak Island, marking the first known American attack on Iranian territory since the US paused its renewed military campaign in late July.

According to a US official cited by CBS News, the launchers were targeted after Iranian forces were observed preparing to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.

The strategic waterway, through which a significant share of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas traditionally passes, lies directly off Larak Island.

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The island is located near Bandar Abbas and has become increasingly important amid heightened tensions over shipping through the Strait.

Iran has been subjecting tanker traffic passing near Larak to checks and has reportedly demanded payments of up to $2 million from vessels seeking to cross the waterway.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the US strike killed two people and injured two others.

IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi described the attack as a “strategic and fatal mistake” and warned that Washington would face consequences in both military and economic terms.

Iran subsequently claimed it had launched ballistic missile strikes against US military facilities in Jordan.

Iranian state media quoted the IRGC as saying that it targeted the King Hussein and Al-Azraq bases, claiming heavy damage to technical infrastructure, maintenance facilities and fighter aircraft positions.

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Jordan’s armed forces, however, said its air-defence systems intercepted eight missiles that entered the kingdom’s airspace early Monday. The extent of any damage at the reported US facilities was not immediately independently verified.

The latest exchange comes against the backdrop of continuing tensions over the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump said last week that Iranian mines placed in the waterway had been removed or detonated and warned that any vessel attempting to lay new mines would be destroyed. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi dismissed the claim as propaganda.

Trump has also threatened action against Iran’s Kharg Island, a major oil-export terminal.

Following the Larak strike, he posted apparent AI-generated videos on Truth Social showing oil infrastructure exploding and referred to Kharg Island as being “blown to smithereens”, without providing further details.

The confrontation comes as Washington has simultaneously intensified economic pressure on Tehran.

The US announced a new sanctions campaign on August 24 aimed at further isolating Iran and expanding secondary sanctions against countries and entities doing business with it.

Iranian officials have rejected the latest sanctions as another continuation of Washington’s existing economic pressure, maintaining that the US failed to achieve its military objectives during the recent conflict.

The US and Israel launched a broad military campaign against Iran on February 28, triggering Iranian attacks on Israel, US military positions and allied states across the Gulf. The conflict also severely disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Before the war, around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments travelled through the strategic waterway.

(With inputs from BBC)