U.S. forces attacked two Iranian rocket launchers attempting to disperse sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to U.S. Central Command.
Hours later, Iran retaliated by firing a few missiles toward Jordan, all of which were intercepted, according to a person familiar with the Iranian attack who was not authorized to discuss it publicly. Several thousand U.S. military personal are stationed at bases in Jordan.
The U.S. attack was the first by the United States against Iran in a month and appeared to be limited rather than a resumption of large-scale American bombing. But the back-and-forth raises the risk of a new round military strikes by both sides.
Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for Central Command, said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps forces had been observed preparing to launch rockets armed with mines from Larak Island into the waters of the surrounding strait, a vital shipping waterway for oil and gas.
As of last week, U.S. forces had cleared the mines that Iran had planted in the strait, according to Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command.
Immediately after the U.S. strikes, the Revolutionary Guards said the attack “will be responded to with punishment on the aggressor,” according to Iran’s state broadcaster. The Iranian news agency Tasnim said that two people had been killed in the strikes, a claim that could not be immediately confirmed. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Trump administration has urged commercial vessels to make the passage, with the U.S. Navy guiding them through the southern part of the strait in Omani waters.
U.S. military officials have said that Navy ships as well as Air Force jets and Army helicopters are monitoring the strait closely and are prepared to attack Iranian forces that threaten commercial ships transiting the waterway.
Passing through the strait remains perilous. Two seafarers have been killed in the last two weeks, and another is missing. In total, there have been at least 71 attacks on ships since the start of the war, and 19 sailors have been killed.
In June, Iran and the United States signed a deal to reopen the strait, and for three days more than 60 ships passed through daily. But the agreement fell apart, and U.S. forces reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports. Iran has sought to assert its control by creating a new system in which it charges ships for passage through the strait, which was previously free.
The turmoil has forced many shipping companies to bypass the strait. Saudi Arabia, the region’s biggest oil producer, has shifted to export more crude via the Red Sea.
The strike on Sunday was the first the Pentagon has acknowledged against Iran since Central Command stuck dozens of targets inside Iran on July 29, including command centers, missile and drone facilities and coastal surveillance sites.
Larger-scale bombings by both countries have transitioned into a pause of military operations, and the Trump administration has focused instead on a series of new economic sanctions against the government in Tehran.
Jenny Gross contributed reporting.
