US strikes Iranian island, first military action since July - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

The U.S. Military struck Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 30, hitting two launchers operated by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the first American military action against Iranian territory since late July.

U.S. Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins confirmed the strike, saying IRGC forces were observed preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the strait. Larak Island sits roughly 20 miles south of the Iranian mainland, inside one of the most heavily trafficked oil shipping lanes on the planet.

President Donald Trump had warned last week that any ship or boat placing new mines in the Strait of Hormuz would be destroyed. He also said all mines had been detonated or removed from the waterway before this strike. The launchers hit on Aug. 30 were apparently part of a fresh attempt to put mines back in.

For people in Lubbock, this may feel distant, but the Strait of Hormuz handles a significant share of global oil exports. Disruptions there tend to move fuel prices at pumps from here to everywhere else. The situation is still developing, and the Aug. 30 action marks an escalation in an active stretch of U.S.-Iran tensions this summer, the second such strike in roughly five weeks.