American forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers Sunday after U.S. officials said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was preparing to fire sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.

The targets were on Larak Island. The strike came just days after the U.S. military announced it had cleared mines from the strait’s international shipping routes.

Iran then retaliated against American forces in Jordan, according to U.S. sources. Early reports indicated that nearly all incoming missiles had been intercepted, with no significant impacts reported.

The retaliation brought the danger beyond the shipping lanes and directly to American troops:

A U.S. official confirmed the launchers and their intended purpose to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, saying IRGC personnel had been observed preparing rockets carrying sea mines for launch into Hormuz. American forces hit the two launchers on August 30, in the first publicly reported direct U.S. attack on Iranian military positions in more than a month.

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The timing matters: CENTCOM had announced the completion of mine-clearing work on the international shipping routes the previous week. Another effort to plant mines threatened to undo that progress and put commercial vessels back at risk.

The official said U.S. forces continued watching the area and remained ready to protect commerce through the waterway, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guard acknowledged deaths and injuries from the Larak strike and threatened retaliation. The statement did not establish a precise casualty total.

RFE/RL also reported that Jordan said it intercepted eight incoming missiles that entered its airspace early August 31, local time.

Under President Trump, protecting passage through Hormuz has become a continuing military commitment. That means clearing the channel and keeping Iranian forces from laying another round of mines.

Fox News reported the first details of the attack on U.S. forces in Jordan through a U.S. source speaking to correspondent Trey Yingst. The source said nearly all incoming missiles had been intercepted and no significant impacts had been reported at that point.

That was an early account, not a final damage assessment; Iran’s Revolutionary Guard separately claimed it had launched a combined ballistic-missile and drone attack against two American air bases in Jordan. Its claims about damage should not be confused with verified results.

Fox also reported that a U.S. official confirmed the earlier American strikes against two launchers on Larak Island. The sequence was clear: a U.S. strike on equipment officials identified as a mine-laying threat, followed by Iranian attacks on American forces elsewhere in the region.

The initial interception reports were welcome news for the troops and their families. They did not make Iran’s decision to fire on them any less serious.

A subsequent update reported no American casualties at that stage, while again stressing that nearly all the missiles had been intercepted:

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The separate U.S. blockade against Iran remained active Sunday as well; CENTCOM’s August 30 update showed a sailor directing an MH-60S Sea Hawk onto the flight deck of the USS Delbert D. Black in the Arabian Sea.

The command said its forces had redirected 83 commercial vessels and disabled three as part of that operation. That continuing naval presence is another piece of the pressure on Tehran, alongside efforts to keep the international shipping routes open.

Here is CENTCOM’s same-day look at the operation:

Sunday’s strikes show why the mine threat cannot be treated as settled just because an earlier sweep is finished. Ships need a safe route tomorrow, too.

For now, the most immediate concern is the safety of the Americans Iran targeted in Jordan. Early interception reports are encouraging, but a final accounting of the attack and any casualties or damage remains essential.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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