Several loud explosions echoed across Iran’s Qeshm Island in rapid succession late on Monday, according to the state-owned IRNA news agency. Witnesses on the southern coast reported seeing two aircraft in the sky above the island near the Strait of Hormuz. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that blasts were also heard coming from the direction of the sea in the nearby port city of Bandar Lengeh.
American media outlets reported that the blasts were the result of military action by the United States. Citing unnamed officials, The Wall Street Journal stated that the US military had executed strikes aimed at restricting Iran’s capacity to attack commercial shipping in the strategic waterway. One official told the publication that the campaign was kept quiet to avoid signalling a return to major combat operations.
The Associated Press also quoted a US official who confirmed defensive strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz. According to this official, the operations specifically targeted Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets. Reporters for Fox News and Axios stated that the action was a direct response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps firing at a US aircraft earlier on Monday.
Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin cited a US official stating that the incident did not mark the start of expanded strikes by Washington. Officials in both Iran and the US did not immediately issue formal statements regarding the reported military action. Earlier on Monday, the IRGC claimed it had captured two US reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm through electronic warfare systems and destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz.
The reported attacks occurred on the eve of US midterm elections, with the Republican Party defending its control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The timing coincided with intense diplomatic efforts to avert renewed US military action against Iran. Writing on his Truth Social platform on Monday, US President Donald Trump claimed that oil prices were dropping because people felt war would be avoided. He added that Tehran wanted a settlement as soon as possible.
When reporters asked him on Monday whether he was considering strikes against Iran following the midterm elections, Trump replied in the negative. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei responded by stating that the ball was in the US court and that Tehran had clearly communicated its demands for peace.
Baghaei stated that Iran had condensed a proposed plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that could be implemented within two days if Washington fulfilled certain conditions. Those conditions included lifting the naval blockade of Iranian ports and securing an end to hostilities, which would clear the path for reopening the strait and resuming negotiations.
