Iran vows ‘decisive response’ to first US strikes in weeks

Tensions between Iran and the US escalated following American forces striking two launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vowed "response and punishment" after two people were killed and two others injured in the first known US strikes on Iran since late July. US Central Command claimed it had conducted "limited, precise action" against "minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz."

In response, Iran launched an attack on US military bases in Jordan, with eight missiles intercepted early Monday morning by the Jordanian army. The US strike is the first known attack on Iran since President Donald Trump suspended a renewed military campaign in late July. Larak Island, located offshore from the key port of Bandar Abbas, sits on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global shipping.

Iran has been reportedly charging vessels $2 million to pay for crossing the island and forcing tanker traffic to pass by it for inspection. Iranian officials, including IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi, have called the attack a "strategic and fatal mistake by the Trump regime" and warned that the "enemy will pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military fields."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated, "We are not seeking war, but we will deliver a decisive response to the aggressors," according to AFP. Iranian state media claimed the attack was carried out by drones, while the IRGC later reported that it had attacked US bases in Jordan with ballistic missiles, causing "heavy damage" to technical infrastructure, maintenance facilities, and enemy fighter jet positions.