The U.S. struck Iran for the first time since late July, hitting launchers on Larak Island on Aug. 30, U.S. officials confirmed to USA TODAY in a statement.
Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command spokesperson, said in the statement the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz and that two launchers were struck.
President Donald Trump said last week that all mines had been detonated or removed from the key waterway for oil shipping and threatened that any ship or boat placing new mines will be destroyed. Larak Island is an island in the strait approximately 20 miles south of the Iranian mainland.
"U.S. forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared
to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway," Hawkins said in the statement.
Tasnim, the semi-state news outlet in Iran, reported that the U.S. carried out a drone attack. The IRGC said in a statement published by Tasnim that the strikes killed soldiers and civilians without stating an exact death toll.
Sardar Mohibi, spokesperson for the IRGC, called the attacks "a strategic and fatal error" in a statement posted to social media and said that the U.S. would "pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military arenas."
The war, which hit the six-month mark earlier on Aug. 28, had stalled following the late-July strikes. A memorandum of understanding that largely paused hostilities expired on Aug. 17. The U.S. threatened sanctions on countries that supported Iran after a social media post from Trump on Aug. 19 threatened "ECONOMIC D-DAY."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not immediately levy sanctions on China and others who trade with Iran, saying that the U.S. was "giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior." "Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?" Bessent said at an Aug. 24 news conference.
Dr. Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told USA TODAY following the Aug. 19 social media post that recent developments signaled both sides appeared to have "given up on diplomacy."
"Tehran’s 'diplomacy' is to simply wait for Trump to return to the MOU, while Trump has barred U.S. officials from engaging with Iran and committed himself instead to economic warfare," Parsi wrote on Substack shortly after Trump's Aug. 19 post.
The war has broadly been unpopular with the U.S. public, with a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Aug. 24 showing 31% of Americans approve of the war. Reuters ' analysis of the poll found that declines in support for the war were driven by Republicans turning against the war.
U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. At least 18 U.S. soldiers have been killed in the conflict.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US strikes Iranian island, first military action since July
