U.S. strikes Iran's Qeshm Island after Revolutionary Guard fires on American aircraft

Three U.S. officials confirmed to multiple outlets that American forces conducted limited strikes against Iran's Qeshm Island, located in the Strait of Hormuz, on Monday — hours before polls opened in midterm elections that have been shadowed by an unpopular eight-month war. The action followed an attack by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on a U.S. aircraft, the most recent episode in a series of Iranian attempts to target American manned and unmanned aircraft over the strait in recent weeks.

This was a defensive measure for Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets.— U.S. official

Officials described the operation as narrow and self-defensive — not a resumption of major combat. According to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the strike, similar limited operations have been carried out previously in secret. The administration deliberately kept the latest action low-profile to avoid it being read as the start of a renewed large-scale campaign, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by Egypt Independent.

Iranian state media confirmed the blasts. Citing Tuesday morning local time, Iran's state-affiliated Fars News Agency described "several explosions" on Qeshm Island. NBC News reported Iranian state media described five explosions. Residents of nearby Hengam Island and the port city of Bandar Abbas, both near the Strait of Hormuz, also reported hearing the blasts, according to Egypt Independent.

Positioned about 14 miles from Bandar Abbas at the northern mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, Qeshm Island plays a key role in Iran's efforts to monitor and assert control over commercial vessels moving through the waterway. According to Egypt Independent, approximately 20 million barrels of oil passed through the strait every day before the war began. The U.S. has targeted the island previously during the conflict.

Ynet News reported that the IRGC separately claimed to have used electronic warfare to intercept two MQM-170 drones south of Qeshm Island and to have destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz. Those claims could not be independently verified. Over the past week, Iran had said it targeted several U.S. drones in the region.

One U.S. official told NBC News that the IRGC has "routinely targeted and shot at U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz" in recent weeks, and that the U.S. is "occasionally striking Iranian missile launchers in self-defense" when that happens — framing the Qeshm strike as part of ongoing operations rather than a new escalation.

The strikes landed on the eve of U.S. midterm elections that have been heavily shaped by the war. Fuel prices, pushed higher by threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, are on pace to be the steepest ever recorded on a U.S. Election Day, according to Egypt Independent. The war has cratered support for Trump and Republicans as they fight to keep control of Congress, according to CBS News.

President Trump had told reporters he would not launch strikes on Iran before the midterms. He did not directly address the Qeshm Island strike in a Fox News appearance Monday night, but he downplayed the broader conflict.

We're not fighting a war. Everyone says 'you're at war!' Well, when was the last time we fired anything? This isn't a war — it's a very soft war … But this isn't like a war that's going on. There's no war raging. It could happen if they don't make a deal, but they want to make a deal very badly and there's a very good chance we make a deal.— President Donald Trump

Earlier Monday, Trump had posted on Truth Social that a deal with Iran "could happen" and that "Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible." Yet in the same Fox News interview, he cautioned that the U.S. "still has to take care of" several Iranian sites, among them Pickaxe Mountain — a suspected underground nuclear facility where Israel believes Tehran has stored enriched uranium and advanced centrifuges.

That's not a big deal. We can do it in literally, we can do that in one hour. Okay, as soon as we want, at any time we want.— President Donald Trump

Vice President JD Vance offered more measured language, telling reporters the U.S. and Iran have "made some progress" toward an off-ramp. Vance sent a letter last week to Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei; Trump told reporters it concerned "medical supplies and various things." Qatar has been working to mediate between Washington and Tehran, focusing on confidence-building measures and arrangements to reduce attacks on commercial shipping, according to Ynet News.

The Iranians are always a little unpredictable, and as the president always says, he retains kinetic options, he retains non-kinetic options. But we've certainly made some progress. We'll see if we can make some more.— Vice President JD Vance

Iran's response was defiant. According to CBS News, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi asserted that Tehran held "the right to legitimate self-defense" and would exercise it "until the military aggression has been completely and permanently brought to an end." Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is leading negotiations with the U.S., put adversaries on notice that Iran's "military and strategic response to any enemy miscalculation will be unpredictable," while Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said over the weekend that a major new attack would be met with a response "without geographical limitations."

During a weekend phone call with Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged that strikes against Iran be sustained and broadened, CBS News reported, citing the Associated Press. In Israeli parliamentary elections last week — the first held since Oct. 7, 2023 — Netanyahu's right-wing bloc fell short of a majority. Regional allies, however, have warned that renewed large-scale attacks could provoke retaliation against American forces, Gulf states, and critical energy infrastructure, according to Ynet News.

The conflict — set off by joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 — has run up a bill of at least $47.1 billion in military expenditure for American taxpayers, according to a U.S. Central Command estimate obtained by CBS News and provided to lawmakers. Replacing spent munitions accounts for roughly $29 billion of that figure; replacing lost equipment another $6.1 billion; and incremental costs including support for service members around $11.9 billion. That estimate does not include damage to U.S. military bases, many of which have been hit by Iranian drones and missiles. According to NBC News, a third aircraft carrier along with thousands of additional troops are currently making their way to the Middle East.

Oil prices, which had been falling as diplomatic signals appeared to show progress, rose in early Asian trading Tuesday after news of the Qeshm strike broke, according to Egypt Independent.

Why it matters — A war now costing U.S. taxpayers over $47 billion is still producing live combat on the eve of an American election, even as the White House simultaneously pursues a diplomatic off-ramp — and the next move, military or diplomatic, remains genuinely open.

Sources differ on Number of explosions heard on Qeshm Island: Several explosions (egyptindependent.com) vs Five explosions (nbcnews.com)

Reported by pbs.org, cbsnews.com, nbcnews.com, ynetnews.com, egyptindependent.com, nationthailand.com