At least two people have lost their lives and two others have been injured in a U.S. attack on the island of Larek, Iranian territory located in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, in the Persian Gulf.
The Iranian agency Tasnim, linked to the Revolutionary Guard, reported on Saturday night that a drone had attacked the area "an hour ago" and detailed the number of victims citing "unofficial sources".
Subsequently, the Revolutionary Guard confirmed in a statement that there are "martyrs and injured" among its personnel as a result of an offensive by the "U.S.-Zionist enemy" and warned that there will be "punishment".
"The desperation over their domestic problems and the decline of their credibility among the countries in the region make them try to revive their sinister role and justify themselves before public opinion with an aggressive act, attacking the island of Larek," the Revolutionary Guard has denounced. The attack "will have a response from the sons of Islamic Iran and there will be punishment for the aggressor," continues the statement.
A spokesperson for the body, Sardar Mohebi, has reiterated that there will be "consequences" both economically and militarily. "It has been a strategic and fatal mistake of the (Donald) Trump regime during the economic war, a mistake that will change the balance of its planners and will entail serious costs," he has predicted.
The Qatari network Al Jazeera, citing a U.S. official who requested anonymity, has indicated that U.S. forces attacked two rocket launchers of the Revolutionary Guard located in Larek.
According to this source, the rockets were being prepared to place naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz. "Our forces have completed the demining of the international shipping routes of the Strait of Hormuz," it has indicated, before warning that they continue to monitor the area and remain "ready" to "protect the free commercial transit through the Strait of Hormuz".
Hours later, the Central Command (CENTCOM) of the U.S. Armed Forces, responsible for coordinating U.S. military operations in the Middle East, claimed a "limited and precise action" against "mining units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard that represented an imminent threat," calling it "absolutely false" that this operation can be considered an "act of aggression".
"Iran has created the threat and the U.S. Army has eliminated it to protect civilian sailors, merchant navigation, and the free circulation of global trade," CENTCOM has stated in a post on social media.
The Strait of Hormuz has consolidated as a key enclave after Iran decided to block the transit of oil from the Persian Gulf in response to attacks attributed to Israel and the United States.