Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the United States’ attack on Iran’s Larak Island, a rising flood death toll in Nepal, and Greece’s multibillion-dollar defense deal with Israel.

Targeting the Islands

U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire on Sunday and Monday for the first time since late July, once against casting doubt on the White House’s repeated claims that the monthslong conflict is nearing its end.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the United States’ attack on Iran’s Larak Island, a rising flood death toll in Nepal, and Greece’s multibillion-dollar defense deal with Israel.

Targeting the Islands

U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire on Sunday and Monday for the first time since late July, once against casting doubt on the White House’s repeated claims that the monthslong conflict is nearing its end.

According to a U.S. official, the United States struck Iran’s critical Larak Island on Sunday, damaging two rocket launchers. The official said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was “observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into [the] Strait of Hormuz.” Local authorities claimed that the U.S. attack killed at least two people and wounded several others.

Hitting Larak, the closest island along the Strait of Hormuz, carries strategic significance, as the IRGC has used it to host military activity, monitor global shipping, and exert influence over the thoroughfare. The United States has previously targeted other Iranian islands—such as Qeshm, Kharg, and Greater Tunb—in a bid to undermine Iran’s maritime authority and deny the regime access to valuable military and economic hubs.

Also on Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated video on social media depicting a fictional incident in which U.S. forces attack Kharg Island. Vice President J.D. Vance said on Monday that the video was an effort by Trump to send a message to Tehran to stop shooting at commercial shipping “or there are going to be some consequences.”

In response to the Larak strike, Iranian forces launched ballistic missiles at two U.S. military bases in Jordan on Sunday. Tehran will “not hesitate to exercise the inherent right of legitimate defense and will respond decisively to any military aggression,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

Jordan confirmed that its military had intercepted at least eight Iranian missiles, while the United Arab Emirates also........

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