Illustrative image. (U.S. Central Command)
The United States military carried out what officials described as “defensive” strikes against Iran’s Qeshm Island late on November 2, according to American media reports.
“This was a defensive measure for Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets,” a U.S. official was quoted as saying.
The strikes, which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, came as President Donald Trump sought to downplay the prospect of a renewed large-scale military confrontation with the Islamic Republic ahead of the November 3 U.S. midterm elections.
“We had a war with Iran. We won,” Trump told reporters. “I don’t know if you even call it a war because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months.”
However, U.S. officials told the Journal that American forces have continued carrying out smaller-scale strikes against Iranian targets for several weeks. The operations were intended to prevent Tehran from gaining the ability to threaten or attack commercial shipping in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Separately, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said late on November 2 that it had shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz, describing it as the 55th drone of the type destroyed by Iranian forces.
The Corps also announced that it had brought down two U.S. MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm Island and captured them.
Later, speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump said this “is not much of a war, because it hasn’t been shooting for months.”
“We bombed out all of their potential nuclear power. Now we might have to go after Pickaxe [Mountain], but that’s not a big deal … We can do that in one hour. As soon as we want, at any time we want,” he added, referring to a site linked to Iran’s nuclear program.
The U.S. president reiterated his claim that Iran wants to make a deal “very badly, and there’s a very good chance we make a deal.”
The latest exchange could mark the beginning of a broader confrontation, particularly as Washington and Tel Aviv have reportedly been preparing for a renewed large-scale military campaign against Iran once the U.S. midterm elections conclude.
Recent reports by NPR and The New York Times indicate that the two countries have drawn up plans for a potentially short but intensive wave of strikes, with possible targets including Iranian energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities and missile and drone arsenals.
The U.S. has also reportedly warned regional allies to prepare for renewed military operations and possible Iranian retaliation.
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america is a de-facto dictatorship for zionist billionaires and their agenda. trump is their clown .
ok russian pig
🫵=🤡🤡🤡