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US and Iran trade strikes for first time in weeks

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World Desk

No to islamic republic regime of iran
Photo: The Stray Dog / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Iran said it struck two US bases in Jordan in retaliation after Donald Trump 's forces hit two rocket launchers on Iran's Larak Island on Sunday, marking the first American strikes on the Islamic Republic since late July.

The first known US strikes on Iran since late July killed two people and injured two others, according to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which vowed "response and punishment". The US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February, with Iran responding by attacking Israel, US bases and allied states in the Gulf, and effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz to marine traffic.

The US strike is the first known attack on Iran since President Donald Trump paused a renewed military campaign in late July. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the US attack on Iran killed and wounded several soldiers and citizens, and vowed a "response and punishment”, according to Iranian state media.

Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday it "strongly condemned the American military aggression on Larak", saying the strikes on bases in Jordan were a "legitimate defence". Iran’s foreign ministry this morning said Tehran struck US military bases in the Gulf as an act of self-defence after the US attacked Larak Island.

Iran was not seeking war ⁠but would respond decisively to any aggression, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards ⁠shot down a US MQ-9 ⁠drone ​over ⁠the ⁠Strait of ​Hormuz ⁠with ‌air defence missiles, causing ‌it to ‌crash into ⁠Gulf waters, the Mehr news agency reported this morning.

Iran is facing renewed economic pressure after Washington announced a fresh sanctions campaign on 24 August aimed at further isolating Tehran and expanding secondary sanctions against its allies. The exchange of fire comes as US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said new secondary sanctions ​were ⁠likely to be unveiled weekly in the effort to pressure Iran, with an initial focus on banks.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right to legitimate defense and will respond decisively to every military aggression by the enemy,” it said. A ​supertanker caught fire and was brought to a complete halt ⁠after being struck by two naval mines in the southern Strait ⁠of ​Hormuz, Iran ⁠state TV reported this morning.

Bessent said he intends to drive the message ⁠home to G20 finance ministers and central bank governors to cut economic ties to Iran, or face secondary sanctions. 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.

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