The US military struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz, a US official said Sunday, in the first military action in a month.
Semiofficial news outlets in Iran reported sounds of explosions near Larak island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said a US attack on Larak island on Sunday killed and wounded several Iranian fighters and civilians, and vowed to respond and punish those responsible, state broadcaster IRIB reported.
In a statement carried by Iran’s state broadcaster, the Guards noted “the martyrdom and injury of several of our fighters and compatriots” and warned that the attack will “result in punishment of the aggressor.”
The Guards did not provide a precise casualty toll.
On Saturday, a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting inbound through the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said on Sunday.
The incident occurred 12 nautical miles north of Oman‘s Khasab, UKMTO said in an advisory note, adding that no casualties or environmental impact were reported.
A war at a stalemate
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 was told that any ship or boat placing new mines will be destroyed.
The last known US 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 US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. The Iran war has now crossed its six-month mark.
US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. Eighteen US 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.
(FRANCE 24 with AP and Reuters)
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