The US military carried out its first strike on Iranian forces in a month on Sunday, hitting two rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz after intercepting signs that Revolutionary Guard units were preparing to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the waterway.
A Month Of Calm Comes To An End
The strikes mark the first military action in the strait in roughly a month, breaking a lull in a conflict that has now run for more than six months since fighting first erupted between the US, Israel and Iran in late February.
Iran Vows To Respond
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps acknowledged the strikes, reported casualties among its personnel, and said it would retaliate. US Central Command confirmed the operation, saying it was carried out to prevent an imminent threat to shipping lanes through the strait.
A Waterway Already Under Strain
Roughly a quarter of the world's seaborne oil trade and a fifth of global LNG exports normally pass through Hormuz. The US military had only just finished clearing sea mines from the strait's international shipping routes last week, after months of intermittent Iranian attacks on vessels and US retaliatory strikes had already disrupted traffic through the channel for most of the past five months.
Washington Steps Up Economic Pressure Too
The strikes came as the White House simultaneously rolled out a fresh round of sanctions aimed at further isolating Iran economically, including measures targeting foreign banks accused of processing transactions tied to Iranian trade.
With both sides again trading fire and Tehran signaling it has no plans to back down, analysts warn the fragile status quo in the Gulf could unravel quickly, keeping global energy markets on edge as the new week begins.