US carries out limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island ahead of midterms

The United States conducted limited, defensive strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, officials told CBS, the BBC’s US partner.

Iranian state news agency IRNA reported explosions on the island on Monday. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its forces had shot down two US MQM‑170 drones south of Qeshm and a US MQ‑9 drone east of the strait, though it did not comment on the US strikes.

The US military has not issued a comment. The attacks came as mediators intensified efforts to avoid a wider war following the US midterm elections on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters, said the US was “in no rush” to increase strikes on Iran, adding that the country’s finances and fuel supplies were already crippled. He also mentioned the possibility of targeting the underground Pickaxe Mountain site linked to Iran’s nuclear programme, describing such an operation as “not a big deal” and doable “in one hour”.

Iran’s chief US negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the “ball is now in America’s court to prevent war”. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said intensive talks were under way via Qatari and Pakistani mediators, while Qatar’s foreign ministry said both sides were reviewing proposals aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Source: BBC News. Photo: Nadzli Azlan / Pexels.