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West: US and Iran exchange strikes after a monthlong calm. ·
Elsewhere: Iran launches retaliatory strikes on US bases in response to US attack on Larak Island.
Iranian and allied non-Western media explicitly frame Iran's actions as a justified retaliation to a US first strike, while Western media more often frames the event as a mutual exchange of fire.
The US military struck Iranian positions on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, stating it was to preempt mine-laying operations. Iran's IRGC retaliated with missile and drone attacks on US bases in Jordan and the UAE, marking the first direct exchange of fire in over a month and significantly raising regional tensions.