The United States carried out limited strikes on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, hours before Tuesday's midterm elections, raising uncertainty about whether broader military action or negotiations will follow.1,2,3,4,5,6,7
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the strikes targeted Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against the United States in the strait. Iranian state media reported explosions on the islands of Qeshm and Hengam and in the nearby mainland area of Bandar Abbas, while U.S. officials cited in other accounts described the operation as focused on Qeshm Island, the largest island in the strait.1,4,7
Qeshm sits at the mouth of the strait and is home to an underground missile site and an Iranian Navy base. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials, that the strike on Qeshm was the latest of a series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks. The Daily Caller, citing U.S. officials who spoke to the Journal, described Qeshm as struck on Monday as part of that series.4,7
U.S. officials described the strikes as defensive measures intended to prevent Iran from attacking ships in the strait. In one instance cited by officials, Iranians fired a missile at an American fighter jet. In another confrontation, U.S. forces intercepted a missile originating on Qeshm Island that was targeting commercial shipping vessels, U.S. officials told The New York Times.1,7
The Pentagon did not publicly announce the strikes. U.S. officials told the Journal that the Pentagon has kept such occurrences from public view so as not to indicate an intention to resume major military operations. The administration was last known to have carried out attacks in early September, and the Middle East has been on edge about the prospect of Washington resuming full-scale operations for the first time in almost two months.1,7,4
President Donald Trump has for weeks said he was considering a new wave of strikes on Iran after the elections, while also speaking about a possible settlement. "We had a war with Iran. We won," Trump told reporters Monday, according to the Journal. "I don't know if you even call it a war because we haven't been doing any fighting for months." Vice President JD Vance said Monday, before the U.S. official confirmed the strikes, that he and Trump "both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement."1,7,4
Back-channel negotiations have been playing out as Israel and some Middle East allies lobby Trump. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed for another wave of strikes on Iran after the U.S. elections during a call with Trump over the weekend, according to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter. The two officials said diplomatic efforts have made progress and that mediators are trying to advance a framework for Iran to cease its attacks in the strait in return for the U.S. lifting its blockade.1
Thousands of U.S. troops remain in waters off Iran to maintain a naval blockade aimed at preventing tankers carrying Iranian oil from reaching the global market, and another aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are on the way to the Middle East. Other American allies in the region are pressuring the United States not to resume the more than eight-month-old war, which has affected the global economy and Iran. The war and its impact on gasoline prices and other parts of the economy have been a vulnerability for Republicans as they try to keep control of Congress.1
Iran has offered to reopen the strait and resume talks on its nuclear program if the United States lifts its naval blockade on Iranian ports, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire including in Lebanon. The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council said Tuesday that the U.S. response to Tehran's demands to end the war was not convincing. Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei wrote on social media that the strait will not reopen until the U.S. addresses Iran's conditions.1
Iranian state television quoted the country's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, as saying Tuesday that Iran had "delivered a firm and rational response to the American side. The ball is now in America's court to prevent war." It was not immediately clear what response he was referring to. Qalibaf also said Iran's armed forces remained at the highest level of defensive readiness. "If Washington makes another strategic miscalculation, it should know that this time it will face a new battlefield and will find itself even more desperate than it is today," he said.1
Some people in Tehran were hopeful that the midterm elections would bring a shift in U.S. policies. "The American people need to make a fundamental decision and bring about real change. They need to put an end to the leadership of someone who is so extreme and who runs things through lies, someone who supports Israel, a country that is literally killing children," said 69-year-old Reza Rezaei. Raheleh Movahhed, also of Tehran, said, "It doesn't really make much difference who comes into power," adding, "The American government and its policies have always had a problem with us. I'm not talking about the American people, mind you. I'm talking about their policies."1
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has called on Iran and the United States to engage in dialogue and reach an agreement, warning against further military escalation. Talks aimed at avoiding that are ongoing.1
