Iranian media reported several explosions on Qeshm Island and Bandar Lengeh, with US media claiming the strikes were carried out by the US military.
Published on November 3, 2026
Several explosions were heard on the Iranian island of Qeshm as US media reported that the US military had carried out what officials called “defensive strikes” in the Strait of Hormuz.
The explosions came in quick succession Monday evening, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA. Witnesses told the agency they saw two planes flying over the island, located off Iran’s southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz.
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The semi-official Fars news agency said explosions were also heard in the port city of Bandar Lengeh, coming from the sea.
The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, reported that the U.S. military carried out the strikes.
Some officials told the Journal that the strikes were defensive and aimed at restricting Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. One official said Washington had deliberately kept quiet about the campaign to avoid signaling a return to major combat operations.
The Associated Press news agency also cited a U.S. official as saying the United States had carried out defensive strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz. The official said “Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets” had been targeted.
Reporters from Fox News and Axios said the attacks were a response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing on a U.S. plane in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Citing a U.S. official, Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin said the incident did not mark “the start of expanded U.S. strikes.”
There was no immediate comment from Iranian or U.S. officials.
US-Iran talks
Earlier on Monday, the IRGC claimed to have captured two US drones, which it described as reconnaissance aircraft, south of Qeshm, using electronic warfare systems, and destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz.
The reported US attacks come on the eve of crucial midterm elections in the United States, as US President Donald Trump’s Republican Party fights to retain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
They also come against a backdrop of intensifying diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing new American and Israeli attacks against Iran.
Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform on Monday, suggested that a deal with Iran could soon be reached.
“Oil prices are falling like a rock, to almost $10 a barrel, a record, because people feel there will be no war with Iran,” he wrote. “Iran wants a settlement as soon as possible. It could happen!”
Earlier, when asked by reporters whether he planned to strike Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections, Trump responded “no.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, expressed optimism about negotiations before reports of the strikes emerged, telling reporters on Monday that he had discussed negotiations with Trump earlier in the day.
“We’ve had a number of good conversations with the Iranians,” he said when asked about a letter he sent last week to Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei. “The president and I are quite happy with the prospects of reaching a negotiated agreement. We will continue to work on it.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran’s peace demands had been clearly communicated to Washington and “the ball is in the United States’ court.”
He said Iran’s proposed plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz had been condensed and could be implemented within two days if Washington met Tehran’s conditions. These include the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and the end of hostilities, paving the way for the reopening of the strait and the resumption of negotiations.
Despite diplomatic pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also pushed for a new wave of strikes against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections, the Associated Press reported, citing two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter.
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