Race To Power | Larak Island strike raises questions over Trump's next move
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Race To Power | Larak Island strike raises questions over Trump's next move")
US President Donald Trump steps off of Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on August 28, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
The US-Iran war sees fresh strikes on Larak Island as Iran retaliates, while Donald Trump threatens action against Iran's Kharg Island.
The US Iran war has witnessed a brief exchange of strikes again.
Days after Donald Trump threatened unprecedented economic sanctions on Iran, and the U.S. Treasury slapped sanctions on 60 individuals and entities, the West Asia region once again witnessed military action. This time, the target for American troops was the Larak Island.
US military struck two Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island, and later said that the strikes were to prevent Iran from deploying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. The attack comes after Trump last week said that the US Navy removed or detonated all mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway which has remained the biggest flashpoint between both countries.
Larak Island serves as a critical maritime choke point at the narrowest section of the Strait of Hormuz. The island’s location and military infrastructure give Tehran a strategic position from which Iranian authorities can monitor and even control the scale of maritime activity across a waterway that is the root cause for stalemate in talks right now.
The IRGC said that the US strike killed and wounded several soldiers and civilians. In response, Iranian forces claimed to have hit two U.S. airbases in Jordan with ballistic missiles, inflicting heavy damage. Iran also claimed a strike targeting US personnel in the UAE. However, Emirati officials denied that any such attack had occurred.
Following the first strike and retaliation in a month, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian warned, that while Iran does not seek war, the country can deliver a decisive response in the face of aggression. The US President on his part has issued a fresh threat, warning of a strike on Kharg Island, which is Iran's main oil export terminal.
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Trump had shared an AI generated video with the caption, 'Kharg is going to be blown to smithereens.'
But the expanse of American strikes is still unclear. Will the US resume full-scale or even partial sporadic strikes on Iranian assets?
The question arises amid reports, which indicate that Washington is attempting to avoid large-scale combat with Iran to preserve its stockpiles of critical munitions and missile interceptors.
The Wall Street Journal had reported that the US is shifting its strategy toward a tighter maritime blockade and intensified economic sanctions.
Question is: will Trump change that tactic if the economic impact on Iran is not what Washington had anticipated?
