US strikes two Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island in Strait of Hormuz

BASRA, Iraq — A US official said American forces targeted two Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island in Iran's southern Hormozgan province, after detecting that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was preparing to fire sea-mine-carrying missiles toward the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that two people were killed and two others wounded in the US drone strike on Larak Island. The Fars news agency separately reported hearing explosions near the island. Larak Island lies near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global shipping. An Iranian source told the Mehr news agency that Iranian armed forces had stopped 30 vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz in the past week, citing non-compliance with established passage routes and rules. The claim could not be independently verified. US Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said on Friday that naval mines laid by the IRGC months earlier had been successfully cleared from international shipping lanes in the strait. No further details on the scope of the US operation were immediately available.