Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the United States’ attack on Iran’s Larak Island, a rising flood death toll in Nepal, and Greece’s multibillion-dollar defense deal with Israel.
Targeting the Islands
U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire on Sunday and Monday for the first time since late July, once against casting doubt on the White House’s repeated claims that the monthslong conflict is nearing its end.
According to a U.S. official, the United States struck Iran’s critical Larak Island on Sunday, damaging two rocket launchers. The official said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was “observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into [the] Strait of Hormuz.” Local authorities claimed that the U.S. attack killed at least two people and wounded several others.
Hitting Larak, the closest island along the Strait of Hormuz, carries strategic significance, as the IRGC has used it to host military activity, monitor global shipping, and exert influence over the thoroughfare. The United States has previously targeted other Iranian islands—such as Qeshm, Kharg, and Greater Tunb—in a bid to undermine Iran’s maritime authority and deny the regime access to valuable military and economic hubs.
