Trump has launched a fresh wave of military strikes on Iran only hours before Tuesday’s midterm elections. The attacks comes just hours after Tehran reportedly shot at two US fighter jets. The new US strikes hit the Strait of Hormuz island Qeshem, where Iran is said to have an underground missile site, navel base and desalination plant. Trump has played down the potential of another large-scale bombing campaign starting as Americans go to the polls tomorrow.
Speaking to reporters about the attack, Trump said: “We had a war with Iran. We won.” He added: “I don’t know if you even call it a war because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months.” Despite Trump’s claims officials have told the Wall Street Journal that the US had been engaged in smaller scale strikes on Iran over the last few weeks. Reports claimed the US had carried out numerous secret strikes against the country despite talking up a potential peace deal.
Some US government officials have labelled the strikes as “defensive” claiming the attacks were to prevent Iran from hitting ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking to the New York Times a US government official claimed the strike on Qeshem came after Iran shooting down a US drone and also attempting to shoot at two fighter jets flying over the Strait. In response to the strikes Iran has stated they will enact a “widespread response” if the country is hit with further US aggression.
Iranian Army Spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia has threatened to expand the conflict beyond its current borders if a new war is reignited. The development comes after fears the US could launch a nuclear strike against Iran following the midterm elections. Former Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson has stated the POTUS is facing mounting pressure from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deploy a nuclear weapon. Taking to X, Tucker wrote: "Under pressure from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran.
The target would be Pickax Mountain in central Iran, where Israeli intelligence claims the Iranian government has restarted its nuclear enrichment program. "No conventional weapon in the American arsenal can penetrate 300 feet of solid granite to destroy the tunnels where enrichment is supposedly taking place. The only military option is a nuclear strike. Netanyahu has been pushing hard for one. 'Bibi calls Trump about it every day,' says an informed observer."
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article relays the Israeli intelligence claim that Iran has restarted enrichment at Pickaxe Mountain. It never reports that Iran has denied any nuclear activity at the site. Without the denial, a reader takes the Israeli claim, the stated basis for a nuclear strike, as uncontested.
The Daily Star reports the US strike on Qeshm with mostly careful attribution, but it hands its closing third to Tucker Carlson's claim that a US nuclear strike is days away and ends on his unnamed source with nothing set against it. The article leaves out two facts other outlets reported: Trump had ruled out using nuclear weapons on Iran, and Iran denied nuclear activity at the Pickaxe Mountain site. Its headline also puts 'secret bombing campaign' in quotation marks, though nobody in the article uses those words.
Gives a contested claim the last word
Serious
“The only military option is a nuclear strike.”
Why this matters
The Daily Star runs Carlson's assertion that a nuclear strike is 'the only military option' near the end of the article and never answers it.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away thinking a US nuclear strike is the live, logical next step that Washington is weighing.
The context
Other coverage of the same day reports that Trump has previously ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran. The Daily Star prints none of this.
“'Bibi calls Trump about it every day,' says an informed observer.”
Why this matters
The article closes on an anonymous 'informed observer' quoted second hand by Carlson, with no response from the White House or Iran.
The impression it gives
A reader leaves believing daily Israeli pressure for a nuclear strike is established and unopposed.
The context
The claim rests on an unnamed source relayed by a commentator. The same day's coverage set Trump's earlier rejection of nuclear weapons and Iran's denial against Carlson's claims. The Daily Star gives Carlson the final word.
Carlson, citing an unnamed observer, claimed Netanyahu was pressing for a nuclear strike. Trump has previously ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran, and Iran has denied any nuclear activity at the Pickaxe Mountain site.
Headline goes beyond the article
Minor
“'secret bombing campaign’”
Why this matters
The headline puts 'secret bombing campaign' in quotation marks and makes it the thing Trump 'launches' on election eve.
The impression it gives
A reader takes it that someone in the story used these words and that the Qeshm strike was itself the secret campaign.
The context
Nobody in the article says 'secret bombing campaign'. The body attributes 'numerous secret strikes' over recent weeks to reports, and the Qeshm strike was openly reported.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“Reports claimed the US had carried out numerous secret strikes”
The article relays the Israeli intelligence claim that Iran has restarted enrichment at Pickaxe Mountain. It never reports that Iran has denied any nuclear activity at the site. Without the denial, a reader takes the Israeli claim, the stated basis for a nuclear strike, as uncontested.