The U.S. military struck Iran’s Qeshm island on Monday in what American officials described as a limited defensive measure against Iranians accused of planning missile attacks on U.S. assets. Officials said there were no immediate plans to escalate the action, which came on the eve of the midterm elections.
One U.S. official said the strike resembled other small-scale operations against Iran in recent weeks and was intended to prevent attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. A second official said Monday’s action followed the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps shooting down an American drone and firing at two U.S. fighter jets over the strait, though the jets were not hit. The official added that earlier strikes had hit empty cruise missile launchers.
President Trump has been weighing renewed strikes against Iran after the elections, but said on social media Monday that an agreement “could happen.” In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity that evening, Trump said the situation was not a war, while warning that it could become one if Iran did not make a deal. He said there was a good chance of an agreement.
Vice President JD Vance said Monday that the United States and Iran had made some “progress” and that he and Trump felt “pretty good” about the prospects for an agreement.
The recent U.S. strikes, which neither government has publicly acknowledged, were described as the first American bombing of targets inside Iran since strikes carried out over two days in early September. The United States also destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers in early September after Iran launched missiles at two American warships in the Arabian Sea and missed.
Sources: The New York Times Politics.