US carries out 'defensive' strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island: Report

The US military carried out "defensive" strikes against Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, local media reported, citing a US official. "This was a defensive measure for Iranians using surface to air missiles against US assets," the official was quoted as saying. The attack, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, comes as President Donald Trump has sought to downplay the prospect of a renewed large-scale military confrontation with Iran following Tuesday’s midterm elections.

“We had a war with Iran. We won,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I don’t know if you even call it a war because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months.” However, US officials told the Journal that American forces have continued conducting smaller-scale strikes against Iranian targets for several weeks. According to the report, some US officials said the operations were intended to prevent Iran from gaining the ability to threaten or attack commercial shipping in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Monday that it downed two US drones south of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. 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. Trump reiterated his claim that Iran wants to make a deal "very badly, and there's a very good chance we make a deal."