US strikes Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz ahead of midterm elections
Just hours before the midterm elections the US has launched fresh strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, US officials have said. Iranian state news agency IRNA reported several explosions on the island on Monday. It comes as the US midterm elections take place today, which could have a major impact on the rest of Donald Trump's presidency. The outcome of the midterms will decide which political party - Trump's Republicans or opposition Democrats - controls Congress and how easy it is for the president to carry out his plans.
But with the midterms just hours away Iranian state television reported that explosions were heard on Qeshm Island. The official, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “Iranians using surface to air missiles against U.S. assets” had been targeted. The strikes appeared to be limited as opposed to a return to full hostilities. Donald Trump previously said the U.S. would not launch new strikes on Iran before today's midterms.
The war and the resulting impact on U.S. petrol prices and other parts of the economy have been a vulnerability for Republicans as they try to keep control of Congress. The strikes tonight have been described as limited and US Officials said they were in response to the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing upon a US aircraft. Earlier on Monday, Trump told reporters that he was in "no rush" to ramp up strikes on Iran. "One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush.
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article never says that thousands of US troops remain in the waters off Iran to enforce a naval blockade on Iranian oil, nor that the US and Israel launched the war in February. Without this, a reader takes the US officials' line that the strikes answered IRGC fire on a US aircraft as the whole story, and does not learn that the US aircraft were operating off Iran as part of a US blockade.
How we know
- Daily Express reported“thousands of U.S. troops remain in the waters off Iran to maintain a naval blockade aimed at preventing tankers hauling Iranian oil from getting to the global market”US launches strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island ahead of midterm elections (opens in a new tab)
- Daily Mirror wrote earlier“since the US and Israel launched the war with Iran back in February”Iran 'threatens ground invasions of US-allied neighbours' if Donald Trump’s war continues (opens in a new tab)
We crippled them financially," he told news outlet Axios. "They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it." Trump was asked by a reporter on Monday if the US will resume strikes in Iran again after the midterms to which he replied "no". The Mirror has contacted US Central Command (Centcom), responsible for operations in the Middle East, for comment. To see more of the stories you love from The Mirror and to find them easily in Google then make us your preferred source.
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