U.S. Forces Strike 2 Iranian Rocket Launchers Loaded With Sea Mines in Strait of Hormuz
By Jacki Thrapp, The Epoch Times.com, August 31, 2026U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers loaded with sea mines on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on August 30, the first American military action in the theater in a month. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command, told The Epoch Times that “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz.” The strikes, he said, were meant to protect operations in the waterway after CENTCOM finished clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes last week.
Hawkins added that U.S. forces “are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway.” Iranian state media said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported several Iranian military personnel and civilians killed and wounded and “vowed to respond to the act of aggression.” State television later said the IRGC fired ballistic missiles at the King Hussein and Al Azraq U.S. bases in Jordan. Jordan’s military said it intercepted eight missiles that entered the country’s airspace early on August 31.
The exchange came one day after a UK Maritime Trade Operations report on August 29 suggested a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile near Khasab, Oman, while transiting inbound in the strait. The U.S. blockade of ships entering and exiting Iranian ports continued over the weekend. CENTCOM said in an X post that as of August 30 its forces had “redirected 83 commercial vessels, disabled 3 and boarded 2 to ensure compliance with the blockade.”
The Strait of Hormuz previously carried about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil before the war with Iran started on February 28 and heavily slowed traffic. Gas prices in the United States jumped about a dollar in a month after the war began, from $2.98 in late February to $3.98 on March 26. As of August 30 the nationwide average for a gallon of regular was $4.07, according to AAA. The Energy Information Agency predicts prices will drop to $3.29 in 2027 and that regional crude production will return to pre-war averages in early 2027.
