Doomsday Clock Ticks Closer as US Strikes Iranian Rocket Launchers in Hormuz

The United States broke a one-month lull in its six-month-old war on Iran by striking military targets on Larak Island on Sunday, in what US officials claim was a bid to prevent Tehran from using rockets to deploy sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns that the doomsday clock ticks closer amid renewed escalation. [1] [3] The strikes were aimed at Iranian rocket launchers positioned on Larak Island in the strait. [1]

US Strikes on Larak Island

Central Command observed the IRGC preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines from Larak Island and described the strikes as a limited, precise action. [1] US Central Command spokesman Tim Hawkins said the US military, which is currently blockading Iranian ports in and around Hormuz, had observed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines. [1] The strikes ended a one-month lull in the six-month-old US-Iran war that began with US and Israeli attacks on February 28. [3] CENTCOM said the action targeted mine-laying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz. [5] In essence, Iran created the threat, and the US military eliminated it to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping, and the free flow of global commerce, according to Rudaw reporting on CENTCOM statements. [5]

Iran's Retaliatory Attacks

Iran condemned the US strikes as an act of aggression, reported at least two killed and two injured, and launched retaliatory ballistic missile and drone attacks on US-linked bases in Jordan and the UAE. [1] [5] Iran’s leaders condemned the attack as an act of aggression and the IRGC has since launched retaliatory attacks on two US army bases in Jordan. [1] The IRGC said its members and civilians were killed in the US strikes, and the semi-official Tasnim news agency said at least two people were killed and two injured. [1] Iran retaliated against the United States in the early hours of Monday morning, targeting US military air bases in Jordan and the UAE and shooting down an American drone over the Strait of Hormuz. [5] The IRGC said its Aerospace Force carried out a combined ballistic missile and drone operation against the King Hussein and al-Azraq air bases in Jordan in response to what it called American-Zionist aerial aggression against Larak Island. [5] Iran also claimed to have downed a US drone and to have targeted al-Minhad air base in the United Arab Emirates. [5] The Kingdom of Jordan said it intercepted at least 8 missiles, with the armed forces noting that the missiles were destroyed before posing a threat to civilians or property. [5] Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that the Islamic Republic's attacks on Jordan and the United Arab Emirates could expand the scope of confrontations and undermine the opportunities for restoring stability to the region. [5] Egypt condemned the Islamic Republic's attacks on Jordan and the United Arab Emirates and warned of the consequences of continued escalation of tensions in the region. [5] Egypt also declared its full solidarity with the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, stressing the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries and protect the security and health of citizens. [5]

US military strikes Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. — Source: vg

Feasibility of Rocket-Delivered Sea Mines

Experts including retired US naval officer Harlan Ullman called the rocket-launched mine tactic implausible due to impact damage, though Iran demonstrated a similar use of the Fajr-5 MLRS in January 2025 naval exercises. [1] Harlan Ullman told Al Jazeera that the US’s claim of rocket-launched mines was implausible. [1] He suggested that the US may have received intelligence that Iran was prepared to use launchers from ships to deploy new mines but wanted to downplay the threat. [1] It would strike me that a rocket, when it impacts in the water the impact would be such that it would do a lot of damage to the mines, Ullman said. [1] They have got a lot of options they could use to plant these mines, so I would like to know from CENTCOM why they think Iran was using rockets, which to me is very, very novel, he added. [1] But Iran has itself advertised its ability to use missiles to lay sea mines. [1] In January 2025, Iranian state television appeared to show the IRGC using the Fajr-5 Multiple Launch Rocket System to lay mines during naval exercises. [1] Usually, mines are deployed using specialised surface warships, submarines or aircraft. [1] They can be dropped to the seabed or moored slightly above the bottom, waiting to detect the magnetic signature or vibration of passing ships before detonating. [1] Iran is believed to have relied on its hoard of fast, small attack boats to drop an unknown number of explosives into the Hormuz waters before quickly speeding away. [1] Many of these vessels have been struck by the US military. [1] Last week, US President Donald Trump said CENTCOM had completed mine sweeping in the Strait of Hormuz, clearing it of mines. [1] He warned Iran that ships or boats deploying new mines would be destroyed. [1]

The Fajr-5 Rocket System

The system can fire up to four artillery rockets from a mobile, multi-tube truck system. [1] Each rocket is loaded with a 175kg fragmentation warhead designed to shatter into several fast-moving shrapnel fragments that can hit multiple targets. [1] It has a firing range of about 75km and has primarily been used by ground forces to target airfields and military bases. [1] But the 75km range also means that if deployed to lay sea mines, the Fajr-5 could cover the entire Strait of Hormuz. [1] Newer variants, such as the Fajr-5c, are equipped with highly precise navigation systems and can fire rockets up to 130km. [1] In theory, the rocket’s warhead could be packed with sea mines, rather than explosives, as appeared to be demonstrated in the IRGC’s naval exercise in January 2025. [1] Once launched from a truck on the coast, the mine-laden rockets would fly over targeted naval coordinates and open their casings mid-air. [1] Unexploded sea mines would then be released into the air and dropped into the ocean. [1] Attached to them would be small parachutes or other materials designed to slow their drop and allow for a soft landing, preventing them from detonating when they hit water. [1] Once in the water, the mines would sink to the seabed or float under the surface. [1] A single rocket launch could technically carry dozens, if not hundreds, of sea mines, spreading them across the narrow Strait of Hormuz. [1] Such a tactic could overwhelm minesweeping operations, while keeping Iran’s fast boats from being attacked by CENTCOM forces. [1]

Regional Security Pacts and Mediation

The strikes coincide with the new Mecca Defence Alliance formed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye. [3] Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye have formally called their new mutual-defence pact the Mecca Defence Alliance, announcing the name on Monday in Istanbul after a meeting between senior officials from the three countries. [3] There is a secretariat that has been established in Riyadh, and the first secretary general will be appointed amongst our Pakistani brothers, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a press conference after the talks. [3] Fidan said the alliance was based on international principles such as respecting the sovereignty of other states, territorial integrity and not intervening in internal affairs, and that it remained open for the partnership and participation of any other country in the region. [3] The meeting came just hours after Washington and Tehran traded strikes for the first time in a month, breaking a lull in a war that has now run for more than six months, after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28. [3] Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces, and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar had arrived in Turkiye by Sunday. [3] The Strategic Political and Defence Committee, created under the joint defence agreement Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed in Mecca on August 7, has now started the work of turning that political declaration into something operational. [3] Pakistan’s delegation was led by Dar, Munir and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif. [3] Turkiye was represented by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler, and General Staff Chief Selcuk Bayraktaroglu. [3] Saudi Arabia’s delegation included Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman and General Staff Chief Fayyad al-Ruwaili. [3] Munir’s fourth visit to Iran this year took place on August 24, when he travelled to Tehran and met President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei. [3] Pezeshkian said Washington needed to change its tone. [3] Two days later, President Donald Trump said the US was not in a hurry over talks with Tehran. [3]

Market Reactions to Escalation

Oil prices rose over 3 percent on Monday following the escalation, contributing to a decline in US stock indices. [2] USA angrep iranske mål i Hormuzstredet søndag, noe som sender amerikanske børser ned på mandag. [2] Oljeprisen stiger kraftig med over 3 prosent etter eskaleringen i Midtøsten. [2] Et fat nordsjøolje for umiddelbar levering er opp over 2 dollar fatet eller rundt 2,5 prosent mandag, omsatt for nivåer rundt 90,45 dollar fatet. [2] Oljeprisen for utsatt levering om tre måneder, tiltok kraftigere, og var opp over 3 prosent mandag morgen, mens amerikansk råolje steg 3,5 prosent. [2] Slik ser de toneangivende indeksene ut like etter åpning mandag: Dow Jones -0,56 prosent, S&P 500 -0,37 prosent, Nasdaq -0,26 prosent. [2]

What to watch next: Pakistani officials had suggested in recent weeks that Egypt might also join proceedings as part of a foursome that has played a key mediating role in trying to end the US war on Iran, with the group last meeting in Amman on August 5 and before that in Cairo in June. [3]