The U.S. military carried out limited, self-described defensive strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island late Monday, hours after JD Vance voiced optimism about a negotiated settlement — and one day before U.S. midterm elections.
The U.S. military carried out limited strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island late on Monday, U.S. officials said, hours after Vice President JD Vance expressed optimism that Washington and Tehran could reach a negotiated settlement to end the war.
The strikes came on the eve of U.S. midterm elections in which rising petrol prices linked to the conflict have become a central issue. President Donald Trump had said before the vote that the U.S. would not launch strikes on Iran before polling day.
What the officials said
Three U.S. officials told CNN the action was defensive in nature and intended to protect American assets in the region. NBC News, citing two officials, reported that the strikes were not a resumption of major combat operations.
One official said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had repeatedly targeted U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, and that Washington occasionally strikes Iranian missile launchers in self-defence when its aircraft are fired upon. According to that account, Iran attempted to target a U.S. aircraft again, prompting the strike on Qeshm to destroy the launcher.
A third official described the operation as "a defensive measure for Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets." The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the strikes, said they targeted surface-to-air missiles being used against U.S. assets.
U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Pentagon has not issued a public statement on the operation.
What Iran reported
Iranian state media reported that five explosions were heard on Qeshm Island on Monday evening. Local outlets initially described the cause as unclear. Tehran has not confirmed the extent of any damage or casualties.
Qeshm sits at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz and has been targeted by U.S. forces multiple times during the war. Iran has continued to enforce its closure of the strait, attacking oil tankers, container ships and other vessels attempting to transit the waterway.
A private campaign, by design
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Qeshm operation was part of a series of strikes carried out against Iran in recent weeks that have not been made public. Sources cited by the paper said the recent strikes have been smaller in scale and deliberately kept secret by the Trump administration to avoid signalling any intent to resume the full military campaign.
If confirmed, Monday's action would be the first publicly known U.S. strike on Iran since early September, when the administration last acknowledged attacks. Thousands of U.S. troops remain in waters off Iran to maintain a naval blockade aimed at preventing tankers carrying Iranian oil from reaching global markets, and a third aircraft carrier with additional troops is en route to the region.
Diplomacy in parallel
Earlier on Monday, Vance told reporters he and the president felt "pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement" with Tehran. "We've certainly made some progress," he said. "We'll see if we can make some more."
Vance sent a letter to Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, last week. The White House has disclosed few details; Trump told reporters the letter focused on assisting Iran with "medical supplies and various things." Tehran has acknowledged indirect negotiations with Washington.
Iran's foreign ministry has said it has a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks with the United States if Washington meets its demands.
Speaking to Fox News hours before polls opened, Trump played down the conflict and its effect on the U.S. economy. "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," he said. Asked earlier whether he had considered resuming strikes after the midterms, he replied: "no".
Why it matters at the ballot box
The war and its knock-on effect on petrol prices have been a persistent vulnerability for Republicans defending control of Congress. Oil prices fell in recent days as hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough grew, a decline the administration touted in Trump's closing midterm message.
Whether the Qeshm strikes are read as a limited, defensive action or as evidence of a widening campaign will depend on what follows the vote — and on whether the negotiation Vance described produces anything Tehran is willing to sign.
What remains unclear
Washington has not publicly confirmed the target set or the operation's scale. Iran has not confirmed whether its air defences were destroyed. The gap between the U.S. account of a narrow, self-defensive strike and the Journal's reporting of a covert series of recent operations is unresolved, and neither side has commented on whether the strikes affected the talks.