WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday that United States forces carried out new limited strikes on Iran, hitting an air defence system on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, while talks with Tehran continue, according to reporting by news agencies covering his remarks in Florida.
Trump described the action in plain terms. He said the United States does minor strikes, and that Iran had built a small anti aircraft device which American forces knocked out in about 15 minutes, maybe five. Iranian state media reported two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm Island, which sits at the mouth of the Gulf on one of the most important oil shipping routes in the world.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB carried an army statement saying Iranian air defence forces had intercepted and destroyed an American MQ-9 drone over the island. United States Central Command, asked about the reports, said the situation on the island was relatively calm and offered no further comment. Neither the reported damage to the air defence system nor the drone claim has been independently confirmed, and no casualties were reported by semi official Iranian outlets.
The strikes were the first reported since the midterm elections on Tuesday, and they sit inside a longer conflict that has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz for months. Earlier strikes on Qeshm were reported on November 2 and 3, and this week Zark News reported that tankers were burning near the strait after Iran rejected an American reply in the indirect talks. Pakistan’s army said this week it was cautiously optimistic about mediation between Washington and Tehran.
Trump told reporters on Friday that his administration was talking to representatives from Tehran and said the talks were making progress, though he gave no details. The United States is also offering a reward of up to 20 million dollars for information on Iran’s nuclear program, with possible relocation for people who provide it, according to the reports.
Why it matters is the mix of force and talks. Limited strikes raise the risk for shipping and for oil prices each time they happen, even when both sides describe them as small. At the same time, the fact that contact continues through mediators suggests neither side wants the fight to grow into a full campaign, at least for now.
What happens next turns on Tehran’s reply. Iranian commanders have warned before that American and Israeli targets are in their sights if strikes continue. Traders and shipping companies will watch the strait over the weekend, and the incoming Democratic Congress has already said the Pentagon budget and the war with Iran will be among its first targets when it takes over in January.
Sources: Iranian state media reports via IRIB and IRNA, U.S. Central Command statement, and agency reporting on the president’s remarks in West Palm Beach.
