The United States has launched fresh strikes against Iranian military targets after US forces identified rocket launchers being prepared for use near the Strait of Hormuz, marking Washington’s first direct attacks on Iran since late July.
Two Iranian launchers on Larak Island were targeted on Sunday, according to a spokesman for the US Central Command (CENTCOM), who said Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had been observed preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the strategic waterway.
The operation comes as the US-Iran conflict enters its sixth month, despite a significant reduction in the intensity of fighting since the April ceasefire.
Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman, said US forces had completed the clearing of sea mines from international shipping routes in the strait the previous week.
He said American forces were continuing to monitor the area and remained prepared to protect the movement of commercial shipping through the waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy routes, with about one-fifth of global oil supplies passing through it before the conflict disrupted traffic. Iran has effectively blocked the waterway since hostilities began, following US and Israeli airstrikes against Iranian targets on February 28.
The latest US operation comes as the Trump administration has increasingly shifted its strategy from direct military action towards what it describes as “economic warfare” against Tehran.
A US naval counterblockade of Iranian ports has placed additional pressure on fuel supplies in Iran, where domestic production has struggled to meet demand.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have made little progress. Pakistan and Qatar are among the countries that have attempted to mediate between Washington and Tehran, but efforts to secure a lasting settlement have stalled.
Although the April ceasefire ended the most intense phase of the fighting, a memorandum of understanding aimed at establishing a final peace agreement was signed in June without producing a comprehensive deal.
Sporadic attacks, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, have since continued to complicate efforts to reach a permanent settlement.
The renewed US strike has also intensified criticism of the administration’s handling of the conflict at home.
US Senator Jack Reed, the senior Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, criticised President Donald Trump in a statement issued Friday, arguing that the war had failed to achieve its objectives.
“Six months later, not a single objective has been achieved,” Reed said, adding that the conflict had weakened the United States’ position in both the Middle East and globally.
The latest strikes now raise fresh questions over whether the relative calm of recent months can hold as Washington continues to combine military pressure with economic measures against Tehran.
