The United States military has confirmed it carried out a precision strike against two platforms designed to launch rocket-propelled naval mines that Tehran was preparing to deploy in the Strait of Hormuz. The operation, conducted on Sunday (30), marks the first known US military action against Iran in approximately one month.
US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations across the Middle East, said in a post on social media platform X that the placement of mines by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) represented an 'imminent threat' in the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM also rejected the IRGC's characterisation of the US operation as 'an act of aggression', dismissing the claim as false.
'Iran created the threat and US forces eliminated it to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping, and the free flow of global trade,' CENTCOM said.
The US operation targeted Iran's Larak island, destroying two platforms equipped to launch rockets fitted with naval mines. A US official told CNN that drones were used in the strike.
In response, the Revolutionary Guard announced attacks against US military bases in Jordan.
CENTCOM had completed the removal of mines from international shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, US President Donald Trump stated on 25 August. Trump warned Iran at the time that any vessel placing new explosive devices in the strait — through which a significant share of the world's hydrocarbon exports transit — would be 'immediately and decisively destroyed'.
Sunday's operation was the first publicly known strike since late July, when media reported bombardments against dozens of IRGC military targets.
Following the collapse of peace negotiations and the expiry of a 60-day deadline for a negotiated resolution to the conflict, Washington announced a new package of sanctions against Tehran, signalling a primary focus on economic pressure.
Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth subsequently clarified that the Pentagon had not ruled out further 'kinetic strikes' should they be deemed necessary.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/?p=535547
