US carried out quiet 'defensive' strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island, officials say

The United States military carried out strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island, at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, on Monday, US officials said, in what they described as limited "defensive" action rather than a return to full-scale war. The strikes, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, came on the eve of Tuesday's US midterm elections and on the same day that President Donald Trump and Vice-President JD Vance spoke of progress in indirect talks with Tehran.

Iran's state news agency IRNA reported several explosions in rapid succession on the island late on Monday, local time, and the semi-official Fars agency said blasts were also heard in the port city of Bandar Lengeh "from the direction of the sea". By early Tuesday, India time, Iran had not issued an official statement on the cause, and the US Central Command (CENTCOM), to which the Pentagon referred questions, had not responded to requests for comment from Reuters or The National.

What happened

A US official told Reuters that the strikes "appeared to be limited" and were not a resumption of major combat operations. A second official described them as defensive measures against Iranian forces using surface-to-air missiles against US assets. Fox News, citing officials, said they were a response to Iran firing at a US aircraft.

According to the Journal's reporting, as summarised by Al Jazeera and The National, the strikes were aimed at limiting Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and were the latest in a series of limited, unannounced US strikes in recent weeks. One official said the campaign had been kept quiet deliberately, to avoid signalling an intention to resume the wider war. IRNA quoted witnesses as saying they had seen two aircraft over the island. No casualty figures have been reported by either side.

Earlier on Monday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had brought down US drones near the island; those claims have not been independently verified, and the US military had not responded to them.

Background

Qeshm, Iran's largest island, lies across the narrowest part of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of the world's seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes. It hosts a naval base, a large underground missile site and a major desalination plant, according to the market news site investingLive, citing the Journal, which also reported that US officials have discussed seizing the island.

The US has struck Qeshm before. In a release dated 2 June 2026, CENTCOM said US forces had conducted "self-defense strikes on an Iranian military ground control station on Qeshm Island" after Iranian missile and drone attacks across the region, during what it called "the ongoing ceasefire".

The United States and Iran have been at war since 28 February, according to The National. Major combat has since given way to a standoff over the strait, with Iran restricting traffic and attacks on shipping continuing, and the US enforcing a counter-blockade of Iranian ports. Over the past week Iran has offered to reopen the strait within two days if Washington ends hostilities on all fronts, releases frozen Iranian assets, lifts oil sanctions and ends the port blockade, and Qatar and Pakistan have been carrying messages between the two sides.

What they are saying

Trump, who had earlier hinted that he might resume attacks after the midterms, struck a different tone on Monday. Asked by reporters whether he was considering strikes after Tuesday's vote, he said "no", The National and investingLive reported. "We had a war with Iran. We won," he said, adding that he was not sure it could still be called a war "because we haven't been doing any fighting for months". In a post on his Truth Social platform he wrote that a deal with Tehran "could happen" and that Iran wanted a settlement as soon as possible, WION reported.

Vance told reporters on Monday: "We've certainly made some progress. We'll see if we can make some more." Administration officials said Trump was still weighing all options, investingLive reported; it said senior officials had presented choices ranging from further air strikes to tighter sanctions and a stricter blockade. The Journal has reported that the US told Gulf governments to prepare for "a short and intense operation" shortly after the midterms.

On the Iranian side, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said responsibility for reaching a deal now lay with Washington and that Iran's demands were reasonable, according to investingLive. He had earlier described the two-day Hormuz offer as "another indication of Iran's good-faith approach", WION reported. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has warned that Iran would retaliate "both within and beyond the region" if the US reignites the conflict, investingLive reported.

Markets

Oil had fallen sharply on Monday on hopes of a deal; investingLive put the fall at nearly 4%. After the strike reports, Brent crude rose 0.5% to $105.25 a barrel and US WTI crude 0.5% to $96.93 in early Asian trading on Tuesday, The National reported. Analysts said the reports cut against the deal optimism, but that the larger risk to prices was the reported plan for a post-election operation.

Why it matters for India

India buys most of its crude oil and much of its cooking gas from the Gulf, and much of that normally moves through the Strait of Hormuz. Prices above $100 a barrel feed into India's import bill, the rupee and fuel prices at home, and Indian sailors make up a large share of the crews on merchant ships in the region. A deal that reopens the strait would ease that pressure; a return to major strikes after the US vote would deepen it. India has repeatedly called for dialogue and the safety of shipping, and its foreign secretary was in the UAE on Monday for talks that included the West Asia crisis.

What happens next

• Tuesday 3 November: Americans vote in midterm elections that will decide control of Congress. Results will arrive from Wednesday morning, India time.
• Indirect talks through Qatar and Pakistan continue this week, AP has reported, on a framework in which Iran would stop attacks on shipping in return for an end to the US blockade.
• Iran's two-day offer to reopen the strait depends on Washington accepting its conditions; Washington has not publicly accepted them.
• Watch for any statement from CENTCOM or Iran's armed forces on the Qeshm strikes, and for casualty or damage reports from the island.