Politics
US Forces Rock Iran With New Strikes
U.S. forces launched fresh strikes against Iran over the weekend, hammering Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps positions on Larak Island after American officials said Tehran was preparing to deploy more sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes hit Iranian missile launchers on the small island near Bandar Abbas, a strategically important location overlooking one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that two people were killed and others were injured in the attack, citing a local governor.
A U.S. official said American forces moved after “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.”
U.S. Central Command described the operation as “limited, precise” action against Iranian forces it said posed an “imminent threat” to commercial shipping and the free flow of global commerce.
The Strait of Hormuz normally handles roughly one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, making Iran’s repeated threats to the waterway a direct danger to global energy markets.
🚨 JUST IN: President Trump announces the US military will be hitting Iran “HARD” in response to attacks on American forces in Jordan
TRUMP: We’re going to hit them HARD. There WILL be a response. ALL missiles but ONE were intercepted by US systems. One missile was identified as… pic.twitter.com/pJfju08CrD
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 31, 2026
Traffic through the strait has been severely restricted during the six-month war with Iran, helping drive up oil and gas prices while forcing commercial shippers to navigate an increasingly dangerous environment.
Iran quickly retaliated, firing ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Jordan.
A U.S. source said Tehran launched at least eight missiles but caused no significant damage.
President Donald Trump vowed that Washington would not let the attack go unanswered.
“We’re going to hit them hard,” Trump told Fox News’ Trey Yingst in a phone call Monday.
“There will be a response.”
Trump said American air defenses intercepted most of the incoming missiles and allowed one to pass because it was not expected to strike anything.
POLL: Should Foreigners Be Banned From Buying American Farmland?
Despite the renewed exchange of fire, Trump suggested Tehran is increasingly desperate for negotiations as crippling U.S. sanctions tighten around the regime.
“They want to meet so badly,” Trump said. “I just don’t know if you can count on a deal with them.
“The sanctions are kicking in really strongly.”
RELATED: JUST IN: US Military Announces Major Development In Strait Of Hormuz: ‘Got The Job Done’
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made a similar point Monday, arguing that Tehran’s renewed military aggression is a sign that the Trump administration’s economic campaign is hitting its mark.
“I would think that they are lashing out kinetically because they are losing economically,” Bessent told reporters during a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in North Carolina.
Bessent said Iran is taking the sanctions seriously and warned that Washington intends to keep the pressure on.
He said the Iranian economy “doesn’t have to collapse” but that the regime needs to “come to its senses.”
The Trump administration is also preparing additional secondary sanctions aimed at further isolating Tehran and punishing foreign entities that continue doing business with the Islamic Republic.
Iran is already showing signs of severe economic strain.
RELATED: JUST IN: Iran Attacks U.S. Forces In Eruption Of Hostilities
The country’s rial has plunged to roughly 2.1 million to the U.S. dollar, a historic low, while reduced oil exports continue to choke off a major source of revenue for the regime.
Regional intelligence sources have warned that the economic collapse could also fuel renewed unrest inside Iran.
Meanwhile, CENTCOM pushed back on another Iranian claim involving the Strait of Hormuz, denying that a supertanker had struck two mines in the strategic waterway.
“No ships have hit mines in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM wrote, calling Tehran’s allegation “yet another IRGC attempt to intimidate regional commercial shipping through disinformation.”
The latest U.S. strikes show Washington is prepared to use military force alongside sweeping economic sanctions when Iranian forces threaten commercial shipping or American troops.
With Tehran firing back at U.S. bases and Trump promising another response, the fragile lull between the two countries has clearly ended.
