IRGC: U.S. Forces Struck Larak Island, Revolutionary Guard Says It Will Punish Attacker

LARAK ISLAND, STRAIT OF HORMUZ — Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a United States attack struck Larak Island in Hormozgan Province on Sunday night and caused deaths and injuries among fighters and civilians.

The Guard’s public-relations office, speaking through Sepah News, said the attack on the island would be answered and that the attacker would be punished.

The office attributed the raid to the United States and Israel and tied it to what it described as the attacker’s inability to solve internal problems and a drop in standing among regional countries.

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (state-run media) cited the same IRGC statements.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) published no public account of a Sunday strike against Larak Island as of 9:47 p.m. UTC on August 30. The Department of Defense published no public account of that strike as of the same time.

The U.S. president published no statement on the Sunday Larak attack as of 9:47 p.m. UTC on August 30. The defense secretary published no statement on that attack as of the same time.

What Happened

• Adm. Brad Cooper said U.S. forces had helped nearly 1,500 commercial vessels carry nearly 750 million barrels of crude through the strait under coordinated protection, and that the blockade resumed in mid-July had held Iranian crude exports from Iranian ports at zero in CENTCOM tracking.

• In a different event on August 25, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi issued a joint statement on a phased framework for a temporary joint shipping corridor in the strait and a joint project to clear mines from the waterway.

• In a separate incident, UKMTO Warning 122-26 recorded a tanker struck by an unknown projectile while inbound in the strait north of Khasab, with no casualties in that warning. The notice was issued August 30. It stamped the report at 8:53 p.m. UTC on August 29.

Locations Affected

• Larak Island, Iran, 26.85333, 56.35556 (approximate island position): Guard-reported Sunday-night strike site.

• Strait of Hormuz international shipping lanes, 26.57, 56.25 (approximate): routes Cooper said were cleared of Iranian-laid sea mines.

• Waters north of Khasab, Oman, 26.38, 56.25 (approximate): Warning 122-26 position on the August 29 inbound-tanker hit.

Official Statements

• Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Public Relations, August 30: “The American-Zionist enemy, once again driven by desperation in solving its internal problems and reducing its credibility among regional countries, seeks to revive its nefarious role and justify public opinion. In a blatant act of aggression, it attacked Larak Island, resulting in the martyrdom and injury of several of our soldiers and fellow citizens.”

• Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Public Relations, August 30: “This action will be answered by the children of Islamic Iran and will result in the punishment of the aggressor.”

• Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander, U.S. Central Command, August 27 and 28: “We have successfully cleared sea mines in the Strait’s international shipping lanes that were laid months ago by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”

• Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander, U.S. Central Command, August 27 and 28: “The circumstances were challenging and dangerous to say the least, but we got the job done. Bottom line, today, international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building.”