Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Monday, including US forces striking Iran’s Larak Island, Iran saying the attack killed and injured several fighters and civilians and then vowing retaliation, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) saying it had struck two US airbases in Jordan with ballistic missiles in response to the US attack.

TOP STORIES

US forces strike Iranian launchers on Larak Island: Axios

US forces conducted a targeted strike against two Iranian launchers on Larak Island on Sunday after observing preparations to deploy rockets carrying sea mines, a US official told Axios.

The operation targeted systems intended to launch explosives into the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil transit point, which narrows to just 39 kilometers (24 miles) between Larak and Oman’s Great Quoin Island.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards say US attack on Larak Island killed and injured several; vows response

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that the US attack on Larak Island killed and injured several of its fighters and citizens, vowing a response and “punishment of the aggressor.”

In a statement, the IRGC’s public relations department accused the US of carrying out an “aggressive” attack on the island.

“The American-Zionist enemy, once again driven by its inability to resolve its internal problems and its declining credibility among countries in the region, and in an attempt to revive its sinister role and justify its actions before public opinion, carried out an act of aggression targeting Larak Island, killing and injuring a number of our fighters and citizens,” it said.

Iran fires missiles from multiple locations toward regional targets: Report

Iran early Monday fired missiles from multiple locations across the country toward targets in the region, state television reported.

Iran’s Press TV also reported missile fire directed toward US vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, without providing further details.

The IRGC said early Monday that it had struck two US air bases in Jordan with ballistic missiles in retaliation for the US strike on Iran’s Larak Island. Later in the day, the IRGC said it had also shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Strait of Hormuz, causing the aircraft to crash into the waters of the Persian Gulf, while also launching dozens of explosive drones at US troops and helicopters stationed at Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates.

Iranian state television separately reported explosions in the southern city of Sirik, saying they may be linked to Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.

On US social media platform X, senior Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi warned: “Retaliation is coming; just run!”

NEWS IN BRIEF

• At least 933 workers are believed to be trapped at around six hydropower projects in Nepal following last week’s devastating floods, the country’s disaster agency said Monday.
• US park rangers are searching for more than 20 people unaccounted for following a Saturday flash flood in Arizona’s Grand Canyon.
• Algeria’s president on Sunday ordered the introduction of the death penalty for deliberately setting forest fires after recent blazes across the country killed 12 people.
• Jordan’s army said early Monday that it had intercepted eight missiles that breached the country’s airspace.
• Eight people have died and 18 remain missing after a passenger ferry capsized off the coast of Northern Cyprus, Turkish Cypriot President Tufan Erhurman said on Sunday.
• Turkish Cypriot authorities have detained the captain and seven crew members as part of an investigation into the capsizing, said Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Unal Ustel.
• A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said Sunday.
• Syria reopened its embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday after a closure lasting more than 14 years, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
• Libya’s political rivals on Sunday welcomed the signing by the country’s 4+4 Small Dialogue Committee of a final agreement to restructure the High National Elections Commission and review election laws.
• Icelanders rejected a proposal to reopen membership negotiations with the EU by 52.8% to 47.2%, according to final results released Sunday by public broadcaster RUV.
• Thirty-eight people were killed and four remain missing following a Russian strike and subsequent explosions in the village of Myla, located in Ukraine’s Kyiv region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Sunday.
• Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani arrived in Tripoli on Sunday as part of a visit to meet with Libyan officials and reopen the Syrian Embassy in the capital.
• At least one person was killed and five others were injured after shots were fired at an event attended by around 3,500 people in the Swiss town of Aarau early Sunday, police said.
• Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Sunday that rulers of Muslim countries should recognize what he called "the true enemy," accusing the US and Israel of being "sworn enemies" of Islamic unity.
• The death toll from devastating flash floods and landslides in Nepal and China's Tibet region has climbed to 804, while nearly 3,300 people remain missing, according to the latest figures.
• Amnesty International on Sunday called on Kenya to investigate alleged enforced disappearances and police killings, saying 19 disappearances and 69 killings involving police have been recorded in the East African country so far this year.
• The first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee established under the Mecca Joint Defense Pact will be held in Istanbul on Monday.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Trump says US will use Venezuelan oil to replenish US Strategic Petroleum Reserve

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Washington will utilize its newly secured control over Venezuelan oil to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the nation's emergency crude oil supply stored in underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana.

“One of the things I am going to do with the Venezuelan oil is fill up the Strategic National Reserves which, because of Sleepy (former President) Joe Biden, has been virtually emptied,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

Trump claims Canadian businesses moving to US amid trade war

Trump claimed on Sunday that Canadian businesses are rapidly relocating to the US as trade hostilities between the two neighboring nations intensify.

“Canadian businesses are pouring into the United States. We want to make our own cars, etc. That’s what’s going to happen,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.

He asserted that Canada has been “ripping us off for years” and vowed that the current economic relationship would be fundamentally altered.

Islamabad, Riyadh agree to boost Pakistani agriculture and food exports to $3B in 2 years

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to boost Pakistani agricultural and food exports to the oil-rich kingdom up to $3 billion within the next two years, a joint statement said Sunday.

According to a statement, the agreement was reached after talks between Saudi Arabia’s Agriculture Ministry and Pakistan’s Food Security Ministry, at the initiative of Premier Shehbaz Sharif.

The development comes after a Saudi delegation led by Environment, Water and Agriculture Minister Abdulrahman A. Alfadley visited Islamabad last week. The Pakistani side was led by National Food Security and Research Minister Rana Tanvir Hussain.