Iran strikes US forces in Jordan after US attack on Larak Island｜Arab News Japan
- Jordan says its air defenses intercepted eight Iranian missiles
- Tehran vowed to retaliate after a US strike on Iran’s Larak Island
WASHINGTON: Iran launched attacks on US forces stationed in Jordan on Monday, Reuters reported, citing Fox News, hours after US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
Jordan’s army said Monday it had intercepted eight missiles, shortly after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had attacked US military targets in the Washington-allied kingdom.
“Air defense systems intercepted eight missiles that breached the Kingdom’s airspace at dawn today, Monday,” read a statement quoting the army’s spokesperson.
Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, citing a US source, first broker the report that Iran was attacking US forces in Jordan. There was no significant impact so far, Yingst said in a post on X, adding that nearly all incoming missiles had been intercepted.
The Iranian strikes came after the US military attacked two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, according to a US official cited by Axios.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vowed to retaliate after the attack, according to Iranian state broadcaster IRIB, saying the US strike had killed and wounded several Iranian fighters and civilians. It did not provide a casualty count.
The US strikes targeted launchers that Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces were preparing to use to launch rockets carrying sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz, Axios reported, citing the US official.
“US forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway,” a US official told Al Arabiya.
Iran’s Fars news agency reported that an explosion was heard near Larak Island, although it said the cause was unknown. Reuters separately reported the explosion, saying its cause had not been independently established.
US President Donald Trump said last week that all mines had been detonated or removed from the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz and Iran has been told that any ship or boat placing new mines will be destroyed.
The United States has warned Iran against laying new mines in international waters, while Tehran has repeatedly asserted its right to control shipping through the strait.
The last known US strikes on Iran were in late July as the war has reached a stalemate in recent weeks with Washington threatening to impose costly sanctions on countries that support Iran.
The latest exchange marks a fresh escalation between Washington and Tehran centered on the strategic waterway, through which a major share of the world’s oil shipments normally passes.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. The Iran war has now crossed the six-month mark.
• With Reuters