Iran says it has attacked US bases in Jordan and US military assets in the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for strikes on Larak Island in the first active exchange between the two sides since late July. The Iranian response came after the United States claimed to have hit two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. A US official told Al Jazeera Arabic following the attack that the launchers were preparing to fire missiles carrying naval mines towards the waterway.
In his first comments since the attack, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was “not looking for war”, but would “never sit still in the face of any aggression” either. Iran “will give a decisive response to the aggressors” if attacked, Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency Fars. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the US attacks on Sunday night had killed and wounded several Iranian soldiers and civilians.
Iran’s Fars news agency also reported IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebi accusing the US of making “a strategic and fatal mistake” for which it will face consequences “in both the economic and military arenas”. But on Monday morning, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that the IRGC’s statement that the attack on Larak Island was an “act of aggression” was false, and said forces took “limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz”. US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that Kharg Island is being “blown to smithereens” in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Iran has yet to comment on Trump’s claims. Last week, the US president said all mines had been detonated or removed from the waterway, and Iran was told that any ship or boat placing new mines would be destroyed. Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the US strike on Larak Island in a statement as a “direct violation of national sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
It added the attack caused civilian and military casualties. Shortly after the US strikes, the IRGC said a combined missile and drone operation targeted the King Hussein and Al Azraq US military bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media. The strikes “destroyed the technical and repair infrastructure, as well as the enemy fighter deployment sites”, causing significant damage, the IRGC said in a statement.
Tehran dubbed the strikes on Jordan as “a legitimate exercise of self-defence” under the UN Charter. They added that Tehran had launched medium-range ballistic missiles towards Jordan. And in a statement released on Monday, Jordan’s army said it had intercepted eight missiles fired by Iran.
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