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Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Trump Warns Iran of ‘Biggest Attack’ Yet After US Strikes, Says ‘Very Little’ May Be Left

The United States launched a barrage of airstrikes against Iran on Tuesday, triggering retaliation from Tehran in the most serious escalation between the two sides in weeks. The latest fighting has pushed global energy prices higher and added to the domestic political pressure facing US President Donald Trump. The strikes came after a weekend exchange of fire between the US and Iran — the first such confrontation since July — followed by attacks on two tankers leaving the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The waterway, a crucial route for global oil supplies, has effectively been closed to shipping by Iran. Oil prices surged by more than $4 a barrel on Tuesday, settling at a five-week high as markets reacted to the growing threat to energy supplies. The escalation also raised fresh concerns over how far the conflict could spread across the region. <h2>Trump Threatens Iran With ‘Much Harder’ Attacks</h2> As the strikes unfolded, Trump warned Tehran against retaliating. In a post on Truth Social, he said Iran would face attacks at a "much harder and higher" level if it responded to the latest US operation. "If the failed Nation of Iran retaliates for this very justified attack, they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level," Trump said, adding that an even larger attack was "waiting in the wings". He warned that when that attack was over, "there will be very little left of the Islamic Republic of Iran". <h2>Iran Retaliates Across The Region</h2> Iran responded by striking US assets in Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq, while maintaining its threat to prevent oil exports from the Gulf. The retaliation came despite Trump's warning that Washington would hit Iran "hard" and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's warning that new sanctions were imminent. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the latest US attacks would "tighten the lock" on the Strait of Hormuz. Before the war, the strategic waterway carried one in every five barrels of oil consumed globally. Iranian media quoted parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as saying that if Iran was prevented from exporting oil from the Persian Gulf, "no one will be able to export oil". <h2>Wedding Attack Leaves Several Dead</h2> The escalation also caused casualties among civilians. Five people were killed and 50 wounded at a wedding near Sirik, a coastal area on the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Iranian Red Crescent. Mehr news agency reported that a four-year-old child was among those killed. IRNA, citing a provincial official, put the number of wounded at 68. There was no immediate reaction from the United States to the reports of the casualties. <h2>US Says IRGC Targets Were Hit</h2> The latest US operation came after a month of relative calm, during which Washington and Tehran largely refrained from direct military action while continuing to exchange hostile statements. The US military's Central Command said it had completed a wave of strikes targeting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The targets included air defence sites, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities. Iranian media reported several other strikes, including a US missile attack near Ahvaz and an attack on the civilian airport at Jiroft in southeastern Iran. Explosions were also reported in Chabahar, Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz and Asaluyeh, a major gas hub on the Gulf coast. Iran's state broadcaster further reported explosions on Qeshm Island, located on the northern side of the Strait of Hormuz. The escalation marks a sharp departure from the relative lull of recent weeks, with both sides now exchanging direct attacks while the strategic waterway remains at the centre of growing concerns over global energy supplies.

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/us-iran-war-us-launches-fresh-airstrikes-on-iran-as-tehran-retaliates-oil-prices-surge-1864847

Will Bangladesh Join Mecca Defence Alliance As Dhaka Signals Support For Pact?

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru There has been widespread speculation about Bangladesh becoming part of a mutual defense deal struck last month by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. But the South Asian country says it has yet to receive an invitation. The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed into force in early August, is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression. It stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three countries would be regarded as an attack on all. Some analysts believe the pact has already changed the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East and South Asia. "Although it is a collective defense understanding, from a strategic perspective it is primarily an initiative to maintain the regional balance of power and advance the respective interests of the participating states," Navine Murshid, a political science and sociology professor at North South University in Dhaka, told DW. <h2>Bangladesh govt. in favor of Mecca pact</h2> Any move by Bangladesh to join, however, could complicate its foreign relations, particularly with neighboring India. The two countries share a 4,096-kilometer (2,545-mile) land border, and have strong cultural and economic ties. India, a fierce rival of Pakistan, sheltered many Bangladeshi refugees and provided military support to Bangladesh during its independence war against Islamabad in 1971. However, ties between New Delhi and Dhaka have become increasingly contentious since a deadly student-led uprising in 2024 toppled then Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was considered a close ally of the Indian government. Now living in exile in India, Hasina has since been convicted in absentia for crimes against humanity during the uprising. She has denied the charges. Bangladesh's current government, headed by the center-right Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), is in favor of the Mecca agreement. "We view this pact positively," Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman said in response to a question in parliament last week. But he insisted that the question of Bangladesh joining the pact, or even considering membership, had not yet arisen, as that would depend on the intentions of its current members. "If they express an intention to include Bangladesh in the pact, we will certainly consider it positively," he said. When asked about the remarks made by Bangladeshi officials, India said the pact had implications for its national security and that it was closely monitoring the situation. "We continue to follow all developments that have a bearing on India's security and take all necessary steps to safeguard it," Randhir Jaiswal, a spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters in New Delhi last week. <h2>Competing geopolitical interests</h2> Analysts said Dhaka needs to consider its interests carefully before making any move to join the joint defense pact. "The scope for direct conventional interstate war or military conflict in South Asia is limited. Therefore, the primary role of such an agreement is not confined to conducting border wars," said Murshid. "In international relations, its significance lies mainly in strengthening bargaining power and maintaining one's position against the influence of other regional countries." Murshid added that Pakistan's interest in bringing Bangladesh closer through this agreement "is driven by geographical and political considerations." "For India, the security of the Siliguri Corridor and its eastern frontier are important considerations," she said, referring to India's narrow land link to its northeastern states, which wraps around Bangladesh to the north. "If Pakistan's defense-related influence in Bangladesh were to increase, New Delhi could view this as a development capable of affecting the regional balance of relationships." In such circumstances, Bangladesh would have to clearly define what it would and would not do by joining this alliance, she explained. "In particular, a clear position would be necessary regarding Bangladesh's role if a military conflict were to arise between India and Pakistan. Taking Pakistan's side during such a conflict could create political and diplomatic pressures for Dhaka that may exceed Bangladesh's capacity to manage," she stressed. Dhaka-based former diplomat M Humayun Kabir sees no reason for Bangladesh to join the pact. "Bangladesh has not joined any military alliance over the past 50 to 55 years. As far as I am concerned, I believe that position remains unchanged to this day," he told DW. "They are talking about a regional security arrangement, but the region in question concerns Pakistan and the Middle East. We are not part of that region or geographical area. Bangladesh is located in the eastern part of South Asia. Therefore, there is no direct geographical rationale for Bangladesh to participate in such a military alliance," he added. <h2>Would Bangladesh benefit from joining the pact?</h2> Murshid stressed that Bangladesh needed to develop its own defense infrastructure and security systems sustainably. She believes that becoming part of an international security agreement could help modernize Dhaka's defense capabilities and facilitate access to military technology. "The text of the agreement does not directly mention trade, labor markets or economic relations. However, it is natural for economic elements to become linked with a security framework, a phenomenon known in international relations as issue linkage," she said. However, Kabir fears joining the pact could limit Bangladesh's geopolitical options and recommended a balanced approach. "We contribute to peacekeeping missions around the world under the auspices of the United Nations, and that is important to us. Our economy is interconnected with many different countries in various ways, which is also important. Our workforce is present in countries across the world, and that, too, is an important consideration," he said. "Therefore, before making any decision on this issue, we must take into account the many different dimensions and forms of our national interests." Disclaimer: This report first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/will-bangladesh-join-mecca-defence-alliance-as-dhaka-signals-support-for-pact-1864835

US Forces Launch Strikes On Iran Following IRGC Attacks On American Bases In Jordan

US forces have begun striking targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), following attempted attacks by the IRGC on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and US service members deployed to the region. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> Today at 12 p.m. ET, U.S. forces began striking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targets in Iran. The strikes follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region. — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) <a href="https://ift.tt/9Ll5E1Q 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script src="https://ift.tt/Rya847g" async="" charset="utf-8"></script> 

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/us-forces-launch-strikes-on-iran-following-irgc-attacks-on-american-bases-in-jordan-1864832

Monday, August 31, 2026

Over 100-Year-Old Hindu Temple Demolished In Pakistan's Punjab, Minorities Allege Land Grab For Madrassa

A Hindu temple believed to be more than 100 years old was demolished in Pakistan's Punjab province, with local residents, minority organisations and a political party alleging that extremists sought to incorporate its land into a nearby madrasa. The government, however, has maintained that the old temple collapsed on its own following heavy rain. The temple, estimated to be between 100 and 125 years old, was located in Siraj village in Narowal district, around 130 kilometres from Lahore. It covered an area of about 1,000 square metres. <h3 data-start="903" data-end="947">Temple Demolished On August 21</h3> According to local residents, minority organisations and the Pakistan Masiha Millat Party (PMMP), the temple was demolished on August 21 by people allegedly linked to the banned extremist Islamist organisation Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). The PMMP has urged the Punjab government to take action against those allegedly involved and ensure that the temple is reconstructed. PMMP president Aslam Parvez Sahotra said he met the Punjab additional home secretary on August 28 and submitted a written application seeking action against the alleged accused as well as officials who allegedly failed to protect the temple. Sahotra also alleged that metal from the temple's spire, other material and bricks from the debris were subsequently removed from the site. ALSO READ: <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/pm-modi-meets-iranian-president-pezeshkian-at-sco-summit-in-bishkek-1864632">‘India Committed To Strengthening Long-Standing Friendship’: PM Modi Meets Iran President Pezeshkian In Bishkek</a> <h3 data-start="1713" data-end="1753">Hindu Community Seeks Reconstruction</h3> Hindu community leader Ratan Lal condemned the demolition and called for the reconstruction of the ancient temple. He alleged that the district administration and the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) failed to adequately secure the site or remove alleged encroachers. 'The district administration and the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) failed to take adequate steps to secure the temple site or remove the alleged encroachers, which ultimately led to the temple being demolished.' Sahotra also demanded that the temple be reconstructed in its original form and that the government ensure protection of Hindu temples, Sikh gurdwaras and Christian churches in Punjab, along with their associated properties. ALSO READ: <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/india-rejects-court-of-arbitration-s-award-on-indus-waters-treaty-calls-it-illegal-1864649">India Rejects Court Of Arbitration’s Award On Indus Waters Treaty, Calls It ‘Illegal’</a> <h3 data-start="2473" data-end="2521">Officials Say Temple Collapsed In Heavy Rain</h3> Senior ETPB official Rana Iftikhar said the structure had collapsed because of heavy rain. "There is no name of the temple recorded in our records. However, it is a very old temple... it was more than 100 to 125 years old," he said. Iftikhar said the land adjoining the temple had been leased for setting up a madrasa, but the temple's land had not been leased to anyone. He added that senior ETPB officials would decide on the reconstruction of the temple. Ratan Lal, who is a member of the Narowal district peace committee and the Pak Dharmasthan Hindu Committee, said the Hindu community remained concerned about visiting the site. "We are even afraid to go to that place because the madrasa is still operating there," he said.

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/over-100-year-old-hindu-temple-demolished-in-pakistan-s-punjab-minorities-allege-land-grab-for-madrassa-1864676

Cameroon Youths Lured By Jobs, Citizenship Into Russian Military, Sent To Ukraine Frontlines

Edited by: Sertan Sanderson Cameroon has emerged as one of the leading sources of African recruits for the Russian military, with young men lured by false promises of jobs and fast-tracked Russian citizenship, only to find themselves on the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials say that nearly 3,000 citizens from various African countries are known to have fought — or were still fighting — for Russia as of May this year; Cameroon, Ghana, Egypt, Kenya and Uganda were identified as major source countries. In April, the Cameroonian government confirmed that Russia had reported the deaths of 16 Cameroonian nationals, seven of whom died in military action in Ukraine. <h2>Poverty driving youths into Russia's duplicitous schemes</h2> The actual death toll is likely higher, according to DW correspondent Dorcas Ekupe, reporting from Bamenda in northwestern Cameroon. "When you look at other publications and see what is happening — even seeing families who are grieving their loved ones — the number is really much higher than what the government had earlier said," Ekupe told DW's AfricaLink program. She described two forces causing this worrying phenomenon: economic desperation and deliberate deception. Many recruits, she said, travel to Russia believing they have secured jobs in construction or as security guards, or that they are participating in study programs. "Once in Russia, they then end up on the battlefield," Ekupe said. Russia's perceived appeal meanwhile is also being amplified by highly structured influence campaigns: Banjo Herman, a lecturer and political analyst at the University of Bamenda, pointed to the key role of the the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group as well as its successor, the Africa Corps, as Moscow's primary instrument for expanding its presence and reputation across Africa. <h2>Military recruitment dressed up as 'cultural' outreach</h2> He also cited Russian government programs such as the "African Initiative" and "Alabuga," which present themselves as cultural or educational exchange schemes but have been linked to military recruitment. "On the surface, sometimes it looks like cultural outreach," Banjo said. "Sometimes Cameroonians are lured thinking it is for work, not necessarily knowing what is beneath the surface," adding that offers of Russian nationality within six months are also a particularly powerful draw. France has previously described the African Initiative as a front administered by Russian intelligence services, designed to spread propaganda. <h2>Why young men continue to risk their lives</h2> Banjo stresses, however, that the economic situation of the recruits is typically the main motivator. "Imagine that you are a carpenter in Cameroon who cannot even earn 100,000 CFA francs (€150; $175) a month, but somebody is promising you 3 million CFA francs to come and work," he explains. "It is very attractive." Meanwhile, he also highlighted the fact that not all Cameroonians in Russia are the victims of deception: Some have lived there for years, were absorbed into the military over time, and are, by all accounts, doing reasonably well. Yet the promise of financial reward combined with the prospect of gaining Russian citizenship explains why even people aware of the risks continue to accept recruitment offers to fight in Ukraine, he believes. Ekupe corroborated this, noting a prevailing attitude of fatalism among some youth: "Sometimes people say, 'If I die, I die,'" and agree to join Russian forces. <h2>Those left behind often suffer the most</h2> Families left behind meanwhile are forced to bear the cost in silence: Ekupe described cases in which mothers only learned of their sons' deaths years after the fact — in one instance, when a fellow soldier called home to report that a 35-year-old Cameroonian had been killed in combat. She added that many families have received no financial compensation from the Cameroonian government, and that some of the men who died had left behind their pregnant wives as well as their children. Contact between recruits and their families is often severed abruptly. "When they get there and discover it was not as promised, it is really difficult to inform their family," Ekupe said. "Sometimes they have to take time to adjust to the new environment and the situation, in which they find themselves." <h2>Russia ducking from responsibilty</h2> On the question of legal responsibility, Banjo noted that international law does not, in principle, prohibit a foreign national from voluntarily enlisting in another state's armed forces. Legal liability arises, however, when recruitment involves fraud, coercion, trafficking or mercenary activity. Banjo cited Article 47 of the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, which defines a mercenary as someone who agrees to take direct part in hostilities with private financial gain as their main motivation. Under current frameworks, the responsibility for the death of a foreign fighter in another country's war rests largely with the individual and their family, not the recruiting state. <h2>Cameroon: insufficient campaigns to fight recruitement</h2> Cameroon's government has stated publicly that it does not deploy troops abroad outside international mandates, and has warned citizens against joining foreign conflicts. Analysts are nevertheless calling on the Cameroonian government, and African governments more broadly, to pursue a three-pronged response to stop more people from risking their lives in Russia. This approach would include economic reforms to create opportunities and reduce the conditions that make deceptive recruitment attractive; direct diplomatic engagement with Russia to hold recruitment networks accountable; and a public awareness campaign that issues clear, proactive public warnings to citizens about the dangers of following such schemes. Ghana meanwhile has already formally raised the issue with Russia, demanding an end to the recruitment of its nationals. However in Cameroon's case, there might be another major hurdle in the country's longstanding military ties with Russia, which President Paul Biya moved to renew in 2014 and 2015. Banjo also said the absence of an official Cameroonian policy response to date reflects, at least in part, the government's awareness that the recruitment is carried out by private actors — limiting the state's formal grounds and opportunities for intervention. "For the government to stop this," Banjo said, "it has to go back to its governance policy and have a policy that is inclusive, transparent, and in which people can find opportunities within the system." Disclaimer: This report first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/cameroon-youths-lured-by-jobs-citizenship-into-russian-military-sent-to-ukraine-frontlines-1864668

China’s Tibet Flood Censorship: How Beijing Suppressed Videos Of Deadly Disaster

Edited by: Keith Walker When a catastrophic flash flood swept through the rugged China-Nepal border on August 26, the physical devastation was immediate. In Nepal, a black torrent of mud and rock tore through communities, leaving hundreds dead and thousands more missing along the borderlands. But across the frontier in Tibet, an autonomous region of China, the physical disaster was almost instantly followed by a digital one: the rapid, high-tech erasure of the catastrophe's visual evidence. As survivors tried to upload raw footage of the deluge, China's state-backed information control apparatus swung into action, executing a sophisticated, precision operation to shape the public narrative and bury inconvenient truths. The contrasting realities — a tragic humanitarian crisis in Nepal and a tightly sanitized, triumphant rescue narrative in China — reveal the evolving mechanics of Beijing's modern censorship machine. Rather than imposing a blunt, blanket blackout, authorities deployed advanced image-recognition technology and "saturated information" tactics to drown out domestic scrutiny while deflecting diplomatic friction abroad. <h2>Collapse of the border gate</h2> In the immediate aftermath of the flood-triggered mudslide, local residents captured dramatic footage of the torrent engulfing Gyirong Port, a critical overland trade hub between China and Nepal. The most striking video showed a black wall of water and debris crashing into and destroying the "national" border gate. In an article titled "An Unrecorded Mudslide Rushes into Gyirong Port" on China's WeChat, a universal app that combines messaging with payment options and social media functions, local blogger "Matou Qingnian" described the chaotic scene. "The most terrifying moment happened at the Gyirong Port," the author wrote, describing video footage of crowds, including children, fleeing in panic before a pitch-black torrent swallowed the camera's view. Within hours, both the article and the raw video footage had vanished from Chinese social media. According to China Digital Times (CDT), an independent watchdog that tracks Chinese internet censorship, the video of the collapsing border gate was systematically blocked from being shared on WeChat, even in private messages. "The footage itself contained no graphic violence, no protests, and no political slogans," explained Mira, a CDT editor who specializes in tracking sensitive keywords and media. "The target of the censorship was the symbol itself: the National Gate." Digital analysts note that this censorship highlights a significant upgrade in China's internet policing tools. Instead of merely filtering text-based keywords, platforms now rely heavily on video fingerprinting, image hashing and machine-learning models to recognize specific visual scenes. Once a visual sequence is blacklisted, it is intercepted before it can ever be posted. <h2>Satiety as a shield: the art of 'saturated' censorship</h2> The suppression of the Gyirong Port disaster reflects a broader shift in Beijing's strategy: from mass deletion to "precision surgery" and narrative flooding. A search for "Tibet mudslide" on Xiaohongshu — China's popular lifestyle and search platform — reveals the mechanics of this "saturated information environment." Rather than showing an empty search page, the platform's algorithm feeds users a carefully curated stream of state-media reports from China's state broadcaster CCTV and news agency Xinhua. The visual landscape is dominated by high-resolution, sterile graphics: "before-and-after" comparisons, maps of high-altitude glacial collapses — the official scientific cause of the disaster — and state-approved aerial drone footage. The raw, chaotic cellphone videos recorded by eyewitnesses at the border are entirely absent. By filling the digital space with a high volume of "safe" and visually appealing official content, the state satisfies the public's immediate curiosity while preemptively suffocating independent reporting or organic discussions, analysts note. On Weibo, China's microblogging giant, the narrative arc was similarly managed. While "Tibet mudslide" briefly trended on August 26, the domestic casualty figures were quickly frozen the next morning at three dead and 558 missing. Almost immediately, the platform's trending topics were redirected toward the government's swift response. Two heavily publicized, lengthy official reports dominated the news cycle: Chinese President Xi Jinping convening a Central Politburo meeting to coordinate rescue and relief efforts, and Premier Li Qiang arriving in Gyirong to personally direct operations on the ground. These headlines effectively turned a major human tragedy into a highly orchestrated exhibition of state competence. <h2>Dangerous 'half-year' question</h2> Beneath the veneer of efficient state rescue efforts lies a deeper, systemic vulnerability that Beijing was desperate to hide: a history of structural negligence. On August 27, a hashtag briefly slipped through the censors and trended on Weibo: "Gyirong Port Reopened Only Half a Year Ago." It amassed over 347,000 views in less than an hour before it was abruptly deleted. The hashtag pointed to a damning timeline of infrastructure failures. In July 2025, Gyirong Port was completely shut down after being devastated by another severe flash flood. It took nearly six months to rebuild and reopen the port on January 1 of this year. Eight months later, the port has been destroyed again. As the deleted "Matou Qingnian" article noted, Gyirong Port has now suffered mudslides during the flood seasons of 2024, 2025 and now 2026. In 2025, several Chinese personnel went missing or were killed. By erasing the "half-year" trend, censors blocked an inevitable and dangerous train of public inquiry. If the state-of-the-art border facility was destroyed twice in 14 months, it raises critical questions about site selection, shoddy infrastructure construction, and the complete failure of glacial lake monitoring and early-warning systems in Tibet. These questions are especially sensitive in Tibet, a region under intense security and political control since the 1950s. Foreign journalists are strictly barred from entering the region outside of highly choreographed government-led tours. According to human rights groups, local Tibetans who attempt to speak with foreign journalists or share independent accounts online face immediate detention or arrest. <h2>High-altitude friction</h2> The informational firewall does not stop at China's borders; it has also created a diplomatic rift with neighboring Nepal, which has borne the brunt of the disaster's human toll. Parshuram Kaphle, a prominent Nepalese foreign policy journalist, publicly accused Beijing on X (formerly Twitter) of failing to share critical trans-boundary data. "Nepal has been addressing the legitimate security concerns of our neighbors," Kaphle wrote in a post that has since been deleted. "However, it must be said with sadness that our northern neighbor has significantly undermined us. By failing to provide early warning of such a massive disaster, we suffered immense loss of human life." He further wrote: "We have continually faced crises originating from their territory, while we continue to address all their concerns, necessary or unnecessary. Why must Nepal alone pay the price of one-sided love?" The Chinese government has rejected any accountability. On August 27, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal issued a statement on Facebook, dismissing accusations of failing to issue warnings or causing the disaster through upstream dam failures as "fake news." "Accusation helps nothing," the embassy statement read. "Cooperation saves lives." But for families searching for the thousands of missing loved ones along the muddy banks of the Himalayan border, cooperation remains as obscured as the truth behind the digital firewall. This article was originally written in Chinese. Disclaimer: This report first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/china-s-tibet-flood-censorship-how-beijing-suppressed-videos-of-deadly-disaster-1864667

Sunday, August 30, 2026

US Strikes Iranian Launch Systems On Larak Island; Tehran Vows Retaliation

The United States struck two Iranian launch systems on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to a US official cited by Reuters. The attack marks the first known US strike on Iranian territory since late July, adding another flashpoint to an already escalating conflict. “I can confirm that earlier today US forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into Strait of Hormuz,” the official said, as quoted by Reuters. The strikes came after US forces allegedly detected members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps preparing the launchers to fire rockets carrying sea mines into the strategically important waterway. ALSO READ | <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/world/pakistan-saudi-arabia-turkey-to-hold-first-mecca-defence-pact-meeting-in-istanbul-on-monday-1864515">Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey To Hold First Mecca Defence Pact Meeting In Istanbul On Monday</a> <h2>What US Said About Larak Island Strike</h2> Larak Island is located south of Hormuz Island and east of Qeshm Island. It is roughly 1,100 kilometres south-east of Tehran. According to the US official, American forces acted after observing IRGC personnel preparing the launch systems for an attack involving sea mines. The development is particularly significant because the Strait of Hormuz is a strategically important maritime route. The strike also comes after US President Donald Trump warned last week that Washington would take action against any attempt by Iran to lay new mines in the Strait of Hormuz. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z7eGjI9t25s?si=PIPsuIWIf8665qKe" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h2>Iran Confirms Attack, Warns Of Retaliation</h2> Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed that Larak Island had come under attack. The Guards said several military personnel and civilians had been killed or wounded. Iranian state media quoted the IRGC as warning that the US attack would receive a “response and punishment”, raising the prospect of further escalation between Washington and Tehran. The latest strike follows a wider conflict that began when the US and Israel launched joint attacks on Iran on February 28. Iran subsequently responded with strikes against Israel as well as Gulf states that host US military installations. ALSO READ | <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/world/enemy-of-islam-wants-to-sow-division-muslim-nations-mojtaba-khamenei-message-for-gulf-countries-1864497">‘Enemy Of Islam Wants To Sow Division...’: Mojtaba Khamenei’s Message To Gulf Rulers</a> <h2>Strike Follows Khamenei's Message </h2> Sunday’s US attack also came just hours after Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, called on Muslim-majority countries across the region to unite against the United States and Israel. Khamenei issued the written message to mark the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed, six months after the start of the war. “The solution to the problems of the Islamic nations is unity of words, friendship, and cooperation on the path of goodness. Anyone, in any position, who does anything that leads to division among Muslims and creates conflict in the Muslim community, knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, has served the purpose of the enemies of Islam,” he said. “Recognise your real enemy, understand its plan, and confront it,” he added.

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/us-iran-war-us-attacks-launch-system-on-larak-island-in-strait-of-hormuz-tehran-vows-retaliation-1864526