US carries out limited strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island ahead of midterms
Explosions were reported on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz as US midterm elections got under way, with US media describing the strikes as limited and defensive.
Explosions were reported on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz late on Monday, in what US media described as limited, defensive strikes carried out by the United States. The reported action came on the eve of the US midterm elections, a vote in which Donald Trump's Republican Party is widely expected to be punished by voters for the cascading effect the war has had on the cost of living.
Iranian state news agency IRNA reported several explosions on the island on Monday, 2 November, the same day the midterm elections took place. US media reports, cited by The Guardian, said the United States launched the strikes on Qeshm Island late on Monday. The strikes were reported as defensive and were not thought to signal a return to full-scale hostilities. Iranian state media reported the sound of explosions on the island in the strait, which sits at the centre of a waterway that carries a large share of the world's seaborne oil.
The timing drew attention because it came only hours after US Vice-President JD Vance said he was optimistic that diplomatic efforts to end the war were moving in the right direction. Donald Trump had said beforehand that the United States would not resume strikes on Iran before the midterms, which makes the reported action a notable departure from that position. Independent reporting described the operation as a set of defensive strikes against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
Qeshm is the largest island in the Persian Gulf and lies separated from the Iranian mainland, close to the Strait of Hormuz. Its location is why developments there carry weight for global energy markets and shipping. Sky News, reporting on the operation, described it as limited strikes on the island and used a file photograph from Reuters showing an aerial view of the island, separated from the Iranian mainland.
Reports also suggested that the United States had been conducting secret military strikes against Iran for several weeks, a claim highlighted by the Daily Mail under the headline noting that Trump had launched an attack on the eve of the midterms. The scale and frequency of any such operations were not independently confirmed in the material reviewed, and no official casualty or damage figures for the Qeshm strikes were published in the reporting available.
The reports underline how closely the conflict is tied to domestic politics in the United States. Voters were expected to weigh the war's effects on household costs as they headed to the polls, and the reported strikes arrived at the same moment. Further official confirmation of the scope of the action, and of the diplomatic track Vance described, remains the key point to watch as the situation develops.
Source: mirror.co.uk
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