The United States said Sunday it had carried out airstrikes targeting Iranian missile launch platforms on a small island in the Strait of Hormuz, marking its first attack on Iran since late July.
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U.S. Navy spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins said, “Earlier today, U.S. forces struck two Iranian launch platforms on Lark Island. Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces were observed preparing to launch missiles loaded with sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that the United States had carried out a strike on Lark Island on Sunday, saying a number of Iranian fighters and civilians were killed or wounded.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that a U.S. drone attack targeted the island at around 18:40 GMT.
The United States had earlier announced an expansion of secondary sanctions that could be imposed on entities and countries around the world maintaining trade ties with Iran, as part of an operation dubbed the “Economic Outcast” campaign against Tehran. The move comes as Washington significantly intensifies its economic pressure on Iran, with the war approaching its sixth month.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the move as an “economic victory day,” aimed at delivering a final warning to countries to sever their commercial ties with Iran or risk having their major companies and entities cut off from the dollar-based financial system.
“We are waging an economic attack on Iran’s financial links around the world. Our goal is to cut off every economic lifeline supporting this authoritarian regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent said.
Iran has been holding talks with Oman for several weeks while maintaining that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed unless Washington fulfills its commitments under a memorandum of understanding reached in mid-June. The agreement includes provisions for lifting the U.S. blockade and economic sanctions imposed on Tehran.
Source: AFP
