US launches strikes on Iran rocket launchers for first time in a month
The United States said that it had carried out air strikes on Iranian rocket launchers on a small island in the Strait of Hormuz, its first attacks on Iran since late July.
US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said in a message to AFP: “Earlier today, US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.”
The announcement comes as US military chiefs reportedly warned US defence secretary Pete Hegseth that extending the war with Iran was unsustainable.
In a reported classified warning to Hegseth, the leaders of the US Army, Navy and Air Force said that prolonging the conflict was critically weakening the United States’ ability to confront threats elsewhere, including at home.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that all options remain open, including returning to full-scale conflict, in an effort to increase pressure on Iran.
Negotiations with Tehran are at a stalemate, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, Americans are increasingly frustrated with the protracted conflict and defence officials are worried about depleted stockpiles.
US central command has kept 50,000 troops on alert for months. Some forces are expected to stay in the Middle East well into 2027.
It is not known whether today’s strikes signal a return to conflict, but the Irainian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has vowed to retaliate.
The US Navy has been particularly overstretched in the conflict, providing dozens of warships and its carriers to the region for the war and then to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group this week returned to San Diego after a 10-month deployment – the longest for a carrier in the post-Cold War era.
- AFP
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