The US launched limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island late on Monday, hours after the vice-president, JD Vance, said he was optimistic that diplomatic efforts to end the war were moving in the right direction.
The strikes, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, came on the eve of crucial midterm elections in which Donald Trump’s Republican party is expected to be punished by voters for the cascading effect the war has had on the cost of living.
Unnamed US officials cited by the WSJ and other outlets described the attacks as defensive in nature.
Trump was asked earlier on Monday whether he had considered resuming strikes on Iran after Tuesday’s midterm elections and replied “no”.
Several explosions were heard on Qeshm Island on Monday evening, according to Iranian state media, with local outlets describing their cause as unclear.
The strikes targeted surface-to-air missiles being used against US assets, according to Reuters and the Associated Press.
US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Reuters news agency, but the WSJ described the attacks as part of a series of strikes carried out against the country in recent weeks that had not been made public.
The paper reported that the recent strikes had been carried out on a smaller scale and purposefully kept secret by the Trump administration so as not to signal any intent of resuming the military campaign against Iran.
The US has targeted Qeshm Island on multiple occasions throughout the war. Positioned in the mouth of the strait of Hormuz, the island has been used in the past to launch attacks on shipping in the waterway.
Despite attacks having ceased in recent weeks, Iran has continued to enforce its closure of the strait by targeting oil tankers, shipping containers and other vessels attempting to transit the waterway.
On Monday, Vance said he and Trump were optimistic about securing a deal with Iran, after Tehran revealed indirect negotiations with Washington.
“The president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement,” Vance told reporters. “We’ve certainly made some progress. We’ll see if we can make some more.”
Speaking to Fox News hours before the polls opened in the US on Tuesday, Trump continued to play down the significance of the conflict and its effects on the US economy.
“There’s no war raging. It could happen if they don’t make a deal, but they want to make a deal very badly and there’s a very good chance we make a deal.”
However, he said the US might still “have to go after Pickaxe Mountain” – referring to a fortified underground site in central Iran that is suspected to be a nuclear facility – but said it would not be a “big deal” and could be done in “one hour”.
Speaking from Washington in his closing message of the midterms campaign, Trump hailed a sharp drop in oil prices as his administration touted renewed diplomatic efforts being made to end the war. Rising petrol prices have caused by the war have become a signature issue of the midterm elections.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
