U.S. Strike Hits Iranian Mine-Launching Platforms in the Strait of Hormuz

The United States has carried out its first known strike against Iran in about a month, targeting two platforms on the Iranian island of Larak that Washington said were prepared to launch rockets loaded with naval mines into the Strait of Hormuz.

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an imminent threat

U.S. Central Command said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ placement of mines represented “an imminent threat” to the strategic waterway. It rejected the Guards’ description of the operation as “an act of aggression,” saying the United States acted to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping and the flow of global trade.

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an act of aggression

A U.S. official told CNN that drones were used in the operation. The strike destroyed the two rocket-launching platforms, according to CENTCOM. The command had previously said it completed mine-clearing operations on international shipping routes in the strait, while U.S. President Donald Trump warned that any vessel placing new explosives there would be “destroyed immediately and systematically.”

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destroyed immediately and systematically

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the U.S. bombing caused deaths and injuries and promised “retaliation.” Iranian state media later reported that the Guards attacked U.S. military targets in Jordan with ballistic missiles and drones, including technical and maintenance facilities and aircraft. Jordan’s army said it intercepted eight missiles. The escalation followed the collapse of peace talks and a 60-day period intended to seek a negotiated resolution, after which Washington announced tougher sanctions while the Pentagon said it could still conduct “kinetic attacks” if necessary.

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kinetic attacks