US strikes Iranian targets near Qeshm Island on eve of midterm elections

Explosions on Qeshm Island

Iranian media reported explosions late on Monday, 2 November, on Qeshm Island, a site off Iran's southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian news agency IRNA said five consecutive blasts were heard, and their intensity suggested that some had hit inside the island. Witnesses told IRNA they saw two aircraft flying over the area, although it could not be confirmed that the aircraft were linked to the blasts. The Fars news agency said explosions were also heard near Bandar Lengeh, a port city in Hormozgan province, with the sound coming from the direction of the sea. Local and provincial Iranian sources had not released any information about the incident when the first reports appeared.

Washington's account

A US official, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said the US military had conducted defensive strikes on some Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the day before the midterm elections. According to the official, the targets were Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets. Officials cited by The Wall Street Journal described the strikes as aimed at restricting Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait, and one of them said Washington had kept the campaign quiet to avoid suggesting a return to full-scale combat. The Journal's government sources described these as the latest of several strikes carried out in secret. Qeshm hosts an underground missile depot and a naval base, and it had already been hit by US strikes since the war began on 28 February. Trump had said the US would not launch new strikes on Iran before Tuesday's midterms, and he had also said he might resume bombing after the 3 November vote.

Vance, Rezaei and the talks

US Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Monday morning that he had just spoken with Trump about negotiations with Iran. He said both men were fairly optimistic about reaching a negotiated deal and that work on it would continue. Vance had sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, whom the articles describe as Iran's head of security, in the week of 26 October, and the White House has given few details of its contents. Mediafax reports that Washington's main condition is a firm and verifiable Iranian commitment not to rebuild its nuclear programme. An Iranian official said Tehran had not yet responded to the letter. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Monday that the ball was in the US court and that Iran's demands were reasonable and logical.

Netanyahu and the wider war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pressing for another wave of strikes on Iran after the US vote, according to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter, as reported by AP. The same AP-sourced reporting suggests that a return to large-scale war could help Netanyahu form an emergency government with his far-right allies. The conflict, now more than eight months old, has been unpopular in the US, where higher gasoline prices and wider economic effects have weighed on Republicans as they seek to keep control of Congress. Israel and some Middle East allies are lobbying Trump on the way ahead while backchannel negotiations continue. The war has rattled global markets and caused heavy damage inside Iran.

What comes next

The region remains on edge about whether the US will resume full-scale operations against Iran. Trump has said he may resume bombing after the 3 November vote, and the talks between Washington and Tehran remain unresolved.