The U.S. military carried out limited strikes against Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, Nov. 2, with a senior U.S. official identifying Qeshm Island as one target. The operation came a day before the U.S. midterm elections and as U.S. and Qatari mediators worked toward an agreement with Iran.
Three U.S. officials confirmed the strikes to CBS News. A senior official said the operation followed fire from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at an American aircraft. The accounts did not provide details of damage or casualties.
The strikes followed a series of sharply different public signals from President Donald Trump. In a Truth Social post on Monday, he said a deal “could happen” and that Iran wanted a settlement “as soon as possible.” Later, during an appearance on Fox News, he said the United States still had to “take care of” several sites in Iran, including Pickaxe Mountain, which he described as housing a suspected nuclear site.
Trump said the action against those sites was “not a big deal” and could be done in “an hour.” The comments came as U.S. and Qatari mediators pursued talks on a deal between Washington and Tehran.
The Associated Press reported that Iranian state television also reported explosions on Qeshm. AP cited a U.S. official who said Iranian forces had been using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets. The public accounts did not establish the precise targets or the extent of any damage.
Nicole French