CENTCOM rejects IRGC claim of strikes in Strait of Hormuz as ‘act of aggression’

The claim by the CENTCOM fact-check came shortly after American forces struck Larak Island.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Sunday (local time) rejected a claim by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as "absolutely false" that US strikes targeting its forces involved in laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz amounted to an "act of aggression."

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz are visible near the beach of Bandar Abbas, Iran. (REUTERS)

In a post on X, CENTCOM said the US forces had taken "limited, precise action" against IRGC minelaying forces that posed an "imminent threat" in the strategically important waterway.

"Claim: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed in a recent statement that strikes by U.S. forces to prevent the IRGC from placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz were an 'act of aggression.' This claim is absolutely false," CENTCOM said.

"Fact: U.S. forces took limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz. In essence, Iran created the threat, and the U.S. military eliminated it to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping, and the free flow of global commerce," CENTCOM said.

The claim by the CENTCOM fact-check came shortly after American forces struck Larak Island; Iran claimed of have launched ballistic missiles at two US air bases in Jordan, Press TV reported.

Sharing footage by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Press TV claimed that the ballistic missiles were launched at the technical and maintenance infrastructure and fighter-jet positions at two US air bases in Jordan--King Hussein and Al-Azraq.

News outlet Al Arabiya said that Jordanian Air Defences intercepted the Iranian missile launches.

The Iranian retaliation came on the heels of the strike at Larak Island, where several people have been left wounded and killed. Iran's IRIB said that the American attack on Larak Island occurred in two waves. It claimed that the sounds heard from Sirik were caused by Iranian defensive actions.

The counter-strikes came after the IRGC Public Relations Department issued a statement warning of direct "vengeance upon criminals" and promising the "punishment of the aggressor."

IRGC spokesman and public relations chief Hossein Mohebbi condemned the military action as a "grave blunder" occurring alongside newly imposed US economic measures.

"This action was a strategic and fatal error by the Trump regime in the course of the economic war, an error that will shift the balance against its planners and will entail heavy costs," Mohebbi said. "The enemy will pay the consequences of this miscalculation in both the economic and military arenas."

Earlier on Sunday, the US military launched strikes on Iran's Larak Island, targeting two Iranian missile launchers, CNN reported, citing an American official.

The strikes hit a highly strategic location near the northern edge of the Strait of Hormuz, the global shipping chokepoint currently at the centre of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

According to Fox News, the strikes were launched after US officials observed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) preparing to fire rockets and deploy sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

The military engagement follows the August 24 announcement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding the launch of "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign designed to cut off Iran's global financial networks and regime revenue sources. (ANI)