U.S. forces strike Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in first military action in weeks - The Hindu

**U.S. Forces Hit Iranian Rocket Launchers in the Strait of Hormuz, First Direct Action in Weeks**

Washington announced on Tuesday that U.S. Navy and Air Force assets carried out a precision strike against a cluster of Iranian‑affiliated rocket launchers positioned on the Iranian side of the Strait of Hormuz. The operation, conducted by carrier‑based aircraft and a destroyer‑borne missile system, targeted a site that U.S. officials said was preparing to fire anti‑ship rockets at commercial vessels transiting the narrow waterway. Preliminary U.S. assessments indicate that the launchers were destroyed with no reported casualties among Iranian personnel, and the strike caused no disruption to shipping traffic.

The attack follows a rapid escalation of hostilities that began with a U.S. bombardment of Larak Island on Iran’s Hormoz gan coast on April 27, which the United Nations later described as a “targeted operation against weapons facilities.” Within hours of that strike, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a retaliatory drone and missile barrage at U.S. installations in Jordan, prompting Tehran’s Supreme Leader to vow “response and punishment” for any further American aggression. Over the ensuing weeks, both sides exchanged verbal accusations and limited kinetic actions, but the Strait of Hormuz strike marks the first overt use of force by the United States since those incidents.

Analysts caution that the latest engagement raises the risk of a broader conflagration in a region already strained by disputes over the nuclear deal, sanctions, and the strategic importance of the Hormuz corridor, through which roughly a fifth of global oil consumption passes. While the United States has framed the strike as a defensive measure to protect international commerce, Iranian officials have condemned it as an act of “unprovoked aggression” and signaled that further retaliation is under consideration. Diplomatic channels remain open, but the episode underscores how quickly the conflict could spiral if either side expands its military posture.