U.S. forces struck Iranian launchers in the Strait of Hormuz, the first publicly acknowledged attack on Tehran’s forces in nearly a month as the Trump administration navigates a tenuous ceasefire.
Iranian forces were preparing to fire rockets from Larak Island, in the country’s south, that would have dispersed sea mines into the strait, said Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for Central Command.
U.S. forces in the region cleared long-lingering mines from shipping routes last week and “remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway,” Hawkins said.
“Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed,” Trump said on social media last week.
The strike comes as many of the 50,000 U.S. troops in the Middle East are focused on a naval blockade of Iran, ordered by President Donald Trump to inflict economic pressure on Tehran, with no end to the six-month conflict on the horizon.
Iran’s hard-line regime appears firmly entrenched, and the diminished military and militia network has still proven capable of attacking U.S. bases in the region. An Iranian attack in Jordan killed three U.S. soldiers last month, triggering a retaliatory cycle in which U.S. forces launched dozens of airstrikes.
A statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the attack “result in punishment of the aggressor,” the Associated Press reported.
U.S. forces have endured an intense pace of military operations in the Middle East since late February, when scores of aircraft, warships and personnel were ordered into the region.
The commanders and service chiefs who provided those forces recently warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that that continuing the pace of operations is unsustainable and risks weakening their ability to confront threats elsewhere, including the U.S. homeland, The Washington Post reported Sunday.
That includes elements of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, which in March mobilized 2,000 soldiers. Their deployment will be extended to a year, Maj. Gen. Brandon R. Tegtmeier, the division commander, said in a letter dated Sunday.
The letter to families of the service members, reviewed by The Post, acknowledges the difficult mobilization and that leaders “understand that a longer tour weighs heavily on every household, including our own.”
Paratroopers from the 82nd would be called upon to support any Iranian ground assaults ordered by Trump. The division also sent artillery support, engineers and air defense personnel.
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