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The United States carried out limited, defensive strikes on Iranian targets on Qeshm Island, in the Strait of Hormuz, late on Monday, November 2, 2026 — the day before the U.S. midterm elections. U.S. officials cited by the Wall Street Journal (which first reported the operation), the Associated Press, ABC News and CBS News said the strikes targeted radar and surface-to-air missile sites that Washington said were being used against U.S. assets, after Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired at a U.S. aircraft over the strait. Officials stressed the operation was defensive and limited, not a return to large-scale combat.
What was reported on the ground: Iran's state news agency IRNA reported several explosions on Qeshm late Monday, with witnesses reporting blasts in quick succession and two aircraft overhead; the semi-official Fars agency also reported explosions near the port city of Bandar Lengeh. No damage or casualty figures have been released, and Tehran has issued no official statement on the cause of the explosions. U.S. Central Command has not publicly confirmed the strikes; the Pentagon referred questions to CENTCOM.
Context that matters: U.S. officials said Washington has carried out similar limited strikes in recent weeks without announcing them, to avoid signalling a return to large-scale operations; the Associated Press reported the last previously known U.S. attacks on Iranian targets were in early September. The wider U.S.-Iran conflict began in February 2026 with coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes. President Donald Trump had said on November 2 that he was in no rush to resume strikes, and Iranian officials have warned of an unpredictable military response to any miscalculation. The strikes have put Gulf shipping and neighbouring Gulf states on alert, given Qeshm's position at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, which hosts an Iranian naval base and underground missile facilities.