Sep 1, 2026 · 6 min · 3 segments
U.S. attacks Iran’s Larak Island in a dangerous escalation that can reignite the war and further complicate diplomacy. Negar Mortazavi on Aljazeera
Negar MortazaviGuest
Robin YoungHost
Well, it's still unclear if the U.S. sees this as a one-off or is this the opening of more escalation from the Iranian side.
We already see the IRGC vowing that they're going to respond, especially the fact that this was apparently a deadly attack.
And what the Iranian side is saying, it— the death toll was among both fighters and also civilians.
So I'm still waiting to see what that final count is, but I think it's an important escalation, the way Tehran sees this and their vowing response, and potentially You know, in the past, Tehran's doctrine had been to show somewhat restraint, and they have learned throughout the course of the war that that's just not something that works with President Trump.
And slowly and gradually, they have changed their doctrine and their posturing into a more offensive and more aggressive form.
So this can potentially lead to another round of escalations, and with Tehran coming in even more aggressive as they have in the past.
And of course, all of this in big picture is related to who controls the Strait of Hormuz.
And right now, it's really not clear what is happening with the Strait, because the Americans had said the Strait was clear of mine.
But now they're saying this strike on Larrac was meant to stop the laying of mines.
Well, that's certainly the American sort of framing of how they want to call this not an offensive but a preventative strike, just waiting for more information to come, at least from the Iranian side and then potentially third parties.
But at the end of the day, like I said, if you look at the big picture, this has to do with the control over the Strait of Hormuz.
So basically, they've said repeatedly that The Strait cannot be forced open with more pressure, with more coercion from the U.S. And they've pushed back on that militarily.
He's just—you know, with the unraveling of the MOU, part of which was a resolution for the Strait of Hormuz, we've seen this back and forth.
It's not the first time in the Strait, each side trying to sort of assert its own control and prove to the other side that they're in full charge of the Strait.
And again, this is ironic, because there had been some diplomatic movements recently in the past weeks and days.
And sometimes you see sort of a military escalation while diplomacy is working.
but it would certainly put more pressure on the diplomats and make that path more difficult.
Well, it's still unclear if the U.S. sees this as a one-off or is this the opening of more escalation from the Iranian side.
We already see the IRGC vowing that they're going to respond, especially the fact that this was apparently a deadly attack.
And what the Iranian side is saying, it— the death toll was among both fighters and also civilians.
So I'm still waiting to see what that final count is, but I think it's an important escalation, the way Tehran sees this and their vowing response, and potentially You know, in the past, Tehran's doctrine had been to show somewhat restraint, and they have learned throughout the course of the war that that's just not something that works with President Trump.
And slowly and gradually, they have changed their doctrine and their posturing into a more offensive and more aggressive form.
So this can potentially lead to another round of escalations, and with Tehran coming in even more aggressive as they have in the past.
And of course, all of this in big picture is related to who controls the Strait of Hormuz.
And right now, it's really not clear what is happening with the Strait, because the Americans had said the Strait was clear of mine.
But now they're saying this strike on Larrac was meant to stop the laying of mines.
Well, that's certainly the American sort of framing of how they want to call this not an offensive but a preventative strike, just waiting for more information to come, at least from the Iranian side and then potentially third parties.
But at the end of the day, like I said, if you look at the big picture, this has to do with the control over the Strait of Hormuz.
So basically, they've said repeatedly that The Strait cannot be forced open with more pressure, with more coercion from the U.S. And they've pushed back on that militarily.
He's just—you know, with the unraveling of the MOU, part of which was a resolution for the Strait of Hormuz, we've seen this back and forth.
It's not the first time in the Strait, each side trying to sort of assert its own control and prove to the other side that they're in full charge of the Strait.
And again, this is ironic, because there had been some diplomatic movements recently in the past weeks and days.
And sometimes you see sort of a military escalation while diplomacy is working.
but it would certainly put more pressure on the diplomats and make that path more difficult.
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