US Strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island in Secret Campaign, Reports Say

US strikes Qeshm Island were carried out on Monday, 2 November, in the latest of a series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing United States officials. Reuters reported the Journal’s account, and CNN separately confirmed the strike through a US official.

The island sits at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a large share of the world’s seaborne oil passes. Iranian state media outlet IRNA reported several explosions on Qeshm Island on Monday, according to Reuters, while residents were reported to have seen two aircraft over the island.

FAKTA

• What happened: The United States struck Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, 2 November, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing US officials.
• Where: Qeshm Island, at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, off Iran’s southern coast. The island hosts a large underground missile site, a naval base and a major desalination plant, according to the Journal.
• Why, according to US officials: Some officials described the strikes as defensive, aimed at preventing Iran from attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. A US official told CNN the strike was a defensive measure in response to surface-to-air missiles being used against US assets.
• What is not confirmed: No confirmed casualty or damage figures had been reported in the accounts read at publication time. US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Pentagon referred questions to Central Command.
• Wider context: Washington and Tehran have been at war since 28 February, according to Reuters. The Journal reported that the recent strikes were kept secret so as not to signal an intention to resume a major military campaign against Iran.

US strikes Qeshm Island: why the Strait matters

The Journal reported that the Qeshm strike was the latest in a string of smaller-scale attacks carried out in recent weeks without public announcement. Unlike earlier phases of the war, the United States has not publicly announced these attacks, the Journal said, quoting one official as saying the campaign was being kept quiet so as not to signal any intention of resuming major combat operations.

Qeshm is Iran’s largest island and a strategically sensitive location. The Journal reported that the United States has previously targeted the island in earlier rounds of the fighting and that officials have discussed seizing it. Its position at the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz means any fighting there carries direct implications for commercial shipping and global energy supplies.

Trump plays down wider war as officials warn options remain open

On Monday, US President Donald Trump played down the prospect of a return to wider war with Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections. “We had a war with Iran. We won,” he told reporters, according to the Journal, and he answered “no” when asked whether he was considering striking Iran after the elections. Reuters reported that Trump also raised doubts about following through on a threatened resumption of military strikes and said a deal with Tehran could happen.

US Vice President JD Vance struck a similar tone on Monday, telling reporters that the United States and Iran had made some progress toward an off-ramp to the war. “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,” Vance said, according to CNN.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Monday that “the ball is in the US court” on any prospective deal to end the war, according to the Journal.

Iran’s drone claims and what happens next

Separately on Monday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it had brought down US drones near the Strait of Hormuz, including two MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm Island and an MQ-9 drone east of the strait, according to Iranian state-linked reports. Those claims have not been independently confirmed, and Washington has disputed some earlier Iranian drone-capture claims.

The Journal also reported that the United States has told Gulf nations to prepare for a short and intense operation shortly after the election, and that Central Command has moved additional missile defences and munitions into the region in recent weeks. That reported preparation, alongside the public talk of a possible deal, leaves the next phase of the confrontation unresolved.

For more coverage from the region, see Watan News Middle East coverage.

What to watch

Attention will now turn to whether Washington confirms further details of the Qeshm strike, whether Tehran issues an official account of any damage, and whether the diplomatic track described by both Trump and Vance produces a concrete proposal in the days after the midterm elections. This is a developing story and will be updated as official statements emerge.