By Abiola Olawale
Tensions in the Middle East spiked dramatically after the United States and Iran exchanged military strikes for the first time in a month.
The sudden escalation shattered a period of relative quiet, sending shockwaves through global energy markets and renewing fears of a wider regional conflict.
The flashpoint occurred when US forces launched targeted airstrikes against Iranian military infrastructure on Larak Island in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the action was a “limited, precise” intervention aimed at neutralizing imminent threats.
US officials stated that Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces were actively preparing to deploy sea mines and rocket launchers into the critical shipping lane.
The operation came hot on the heels of the US military announcing it had successfully cleared remaining explosives from the international waterway’s commercial lanes.
The US strike is the first known attack on Iran since President Donald Trump paused a renewed military campaign in late July.
Larak Island is just offshore from the key port of Bandar Abbas and sits right on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global shipping.
However, Iran’s leadership swiftly condemned the US action, labeling it a deadly and strategic miscalculation.
In response, the IRGC launched ballistic missiles targeting U.S. military positions and air bases in neighboring Jordan.
Hossein Mohebbi, the IRGC’s spokesman, called the attack a “strategic and fatal mistake by the Trump regime” and said that the “enemy will pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military fields”.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a statement quoted by state TV: “We are not seeking war, but we will deliver a decisive response to the aggressors,” according to AFP.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the IRGC, said earlier that the attack was carried out by drones.
Hours later, Iranian media carried a statement by the IRGC saying it had attacked the US bases of King Hussein and al-Azraq in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to the Larak Island attack.
The IRGC said it had caused “heavy damage” and targeted “technical infrastructure, maintenance facilities, and enemy fighter jet positions”, according to a translation from the AFP news agency.
Hours after the strike, Trump posted apparent AI videos on Truth Social showing oil infrastructure exploding.
One was captioned “Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!” in reference to a major oil terminal off the coast of Iran, which Trump has threatened to take. His post did not elaborate.
Trump said last week that all mines placed in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran as part of its efforts to blockade the route had been detonated or removed. He said Iran had been warned that any ship or boat deploying new mines would be destroyed.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi described Trump’s claim as a “propaganda” deception.
