Iran attacks Jordan, UAE after US bombs Larak Island: What’s the latest?

Iran says it has attacked US bases in Jordan and US military assets in the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for strikes on Larak Island in the first active exchange between the two sides since late July.

The Iranian response came after the United States claimed to have hit two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. A US official told Al Jazeera Arabic following the attack that the launchers were preparing to fire missiles carrying naval mines towards the waterway.

In his first comments since the attack, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran was “not looking for war”, but would “never sit still in the face of any aggression” either.

Iran “will give a decisive response to the aggressors” if attacked, Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency Fars. “Instability and unrest in the region are not in the interest of any country and will challenge everyone.”

Here’s what we know so far and what could happen to the diplomatic efforts to end the six-month-old war that has disrupted global oil supply and jolted the global economy.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the US attacks on Sunday night had killed and wounded several Iranian soldiers and civilians.

Iran’s Fars news agency also reported IRGC spokesperson Sardar Mohebi accusing the US of making “a strategic and fatal mistake” for which it will face consequences “in both the economic and military arenas”.

But on Monday morning, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that the IRGC’s statement that the attack on Larak Island was an “act of aggression” was false, and said forces took “limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz”.