US Strikes Iran's Lark Island, Targeting Launchers Aimed at Mining the Strait of Hormuz

US forces struck Iran's Lark Island on August 30, 2026, destroying rocket launchers positioned to fire mines into the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supply transits. A US official confirmed the launchers were in deployment state. Iran's IRGC acknowledged soldiers killed and injured, vowing retaliation. The strike ended a weeks-long pause in direct US attacks on Iranian territory amid a six-month US-Israel war on Iran, during which the US has shifted toward financial pressure yet retains targeted military action for discrete threats. Iran has previously retaliated against US regional bases, and the IRGC's framing of the "American-Zionist enemy" suggests its next response may not distinguish between US and Israeli targets.