US strikes Iranian targets near Strait of Hormuz as explosions hit Qeshm Island
US officials described the strikes as defensive, after Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired on a US aircraft. Iran says it reserves the right to respond.
In this article
The United States carried out strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz overnight, US officials said, as explosions were reported on Iran's Qeshm Island and in the port of Bandar Lengeh.
The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, first reported the strikes late on Monday, November 2. Some officials told the newspaper they were defensive, aimed at limiting Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping. President Donald Trump confirmed in a telephone interview with Fox News on Tuesday that the United States had struck Iran.
What triggered it
According to reporters for Fox News and Axios, the strikes followed an incident on Monday in which Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired at a US aircraft over the strait. The IRGC had earlier claimed it captured two US drones and destroyed an MQ-9 Reaper drone east of the strait.
Iran's response
Iran's state news agency IRNA said five explosions were heard on Qeshm, a large island in the strait, and more blasts were reported in Bandar Lengeh on the mainland. There was no official information on casualties or damage.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran reserved the right to self-defence.
Limited strikes, not a new offensive
Fox News reported that the strikes did not mark the start of an expanded US campaign. The Wall Street Journal described them as the latest in a series of limited strikes Washington has carried out against Iran in recent weeks without public announcement.
Diplomacy in the balance
The strikes came hours before Americans voted in the midterm elections and as Qatar mediates talks on ending the war. Iranian negotiators left Doha at the weekend with a draft proposal under discussion that Tehran says could reopen the strait within two days of a deal.
Trump had said there would be no new attacks before the election. Whether the latest strikes derail the talks, or are treated as an isolated exchange, will become clearer in the coming days. Oil traders will be watching closely: the strait normally carries a large share of the world's seaborne crude.
Sources and references
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