The US military carried out limited strikes on the Iranian island of Qeshm on Monday, according to two US officials.
Officials said the U.S. attacks, which came on the eve of crucial U.S. midterm elections and as the Middle East worries about the possibility of a return to all-out war, did not constitute a resumption of major combat operations in Iran. They called the attacks self-defense in response to Iran’s continued efforts to target U.S. shipping and assets.
The United States continues to intercept drones and missiles that target ships every day, one of the U.S. officials said.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has regularly targeted and fired on U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz and in the region in recent weeks, one of the U.S. officials said.
The United States occasionally strikes Iranian missile launchers in self-defense when the Revolutionary Guard fires on American planes, the official said.
Iran again tried to target a US aircraft, leading the US to strike Qeshm to destroy the launcher, the official said, claiming it was part of ongoing operations.
A third US official said: “This was a defensive measure for the Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets. »
Iranian state media reported that five explosions were heard on the island of Qeshm on Monday.
President Donald Trump said the United States would not launch strikes against Iran before Tuesday’s midterm elections.
The unpopular war in Iran and its impact on U.S. gasoline prices and other parts of the economy have posed a vulnerability for Republicans as they try to maintain control of Congress.
The administration is last known to have carried out attacks in early September, but thousands of U.S. troops remain in the waters off Iran to maintain a naval blockade aimed at preventing tankers carrying Iranian oil from accessing the global market. A third aircraft carrier and thousands more troops are also on their way to the Middle East.
Earlier Monday, Vice President JD Vance expressed measured optimism that a deal could be reached to prevent Trump from following through on his threat to potentially order new strikes against Iran after the midterm elections.
Vance sent a letter last week to Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, of which few details were provided by the White House. Trump told reporters the letter was intended to help Iran with “medical supplies and various things.”
Vance suggested Monday that there was reason to believe the United States and Iran could still reach an agreement.
“We’ve had a number of good conversations with the Iranians,” he told reporters when asked about the letter, adding that he and Trump “both feel pretty good about the prospects of a possible negotiated settlement. We’re going to continue to work on that.”
The region remains nervous about the prospect of a resumption of large-scale US operations against Iran. The backdoor efforts come as Israel and some Middle Eastern allies pressure Trump to move forward with the eight-month-old war, which has roiled global markets and wreaked havoc in Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been pushing for new strikes even before last week’s Israeli elections, as he sought to emphasize his security credentials to a public deeply scarred by the attacks carried out by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
But the war also looms as a major threat to American voters ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Oil prices fell sharply on Monday as renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war appeared to show signs of progress.
Trump highlighted the decline Monday in a speech in Washington, presented as his final argument to Americans, and sought to downplay the scale of the conflict, which has cost American taxpayers at least $47 billion.
“I don’t even know if you call it a war, because we haven’t fought in months,” Trump said. Earlier, he posted on Truth Social that “Iran wants a settlement as soon as possible.”
He has frequently asserted that the two sides are close to an agreement to end the conflict, even if this agreement has not yet materialized.
Iran has repeatedly said it is open to a diplomatic resolution, but has largely stuck to its demands.
Tehran “provided a firm and rational response to the American side and the ball is now in the American court to prevent a war,” Parliament Speaker and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday.
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