Israel was briefed on the U.S. overnight strike on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, as both Israeli and Iranian assessments indicated Monday that the latest round of hostilities was likely to remain contained, despite sharp threats of further retaliation from Washington and Tehran.
The latest exchange began after a senior U.S. official told Reuters and Al Jazeera that Iranian launchers had been detected preparing to fire missiles carrying naval mines. Iran subsequently launched attacks against forces stationed in Jordan and toward Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.
Tehran rejected Washington’s account of the events that triggered the U.S. strike, describing it as a “fabrication” and a “fantasy,” and argued that the U.S. position was contradictory because Washington had claimed both that existing naval mines had been neutralized and that it needed to prevent Iran from deploying new ones. Iran’s Defense Ministry also denied carrying out an attack on the UAE base, saying: “The reports are completely false.”
