US Launches ‘Defensive’ Strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island Amid Rising Tensions

WASHINGTON, Nov 3: The US military has carried out what it described as “defensive” strikes against Iran’s Qeshm Island, targeting threats allegedly posed by Iranian surface-to-air missile systems against American military assets, according to media reports 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 strikes, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, come amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, even as US President Donald Trump has sought to downplay the possibility 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 on 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 newspaper that American forces have continued carrying out smaller-scale strikes against Iranian targets over the past several weeks. According to the report, some US officials said the operations were aimed at preventing Iran from developing the capability to threaten or attack commercial shipping passing through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed on Monday that it had shot down two US drones south of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. In a separate interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump again played down the prospect of renewed hostilities, saying the situation did not amount to much of a war because there had been no shooting for months. He also claimed that US strikes had destroyed Iran’s potential nuclear capabilities, while warning that Washington could still target a site associated with Iran’s nuclear programme. “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,” Trump said. Trump reiterated his assertion that Tehran was keen to reach an agreement with Washington, adding that “there's a very good chance we make a deal.” The reported strikes and competing claims over drone incidents underscore continuing military tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical international shipping route for global energy supplie