US military strikes Iran's Qeshm Island ahead of midterm elections - USA Today
WASHINGTON – The United States attacked Iran's Qeshm Island on Nov. 2, conducting a defensive operation on the eve of the midterm elections, according to a U.S. official.
The attack was intended to prevent Iran from using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets in the region, the U.S. official said. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Nov. 2 that it shot down two U.S. military drones south of Qeshm Island, according to Tasnim, an Iranian news agency close to the IRGC.
The Pentagon referred questions to U.S. Central Command, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The strikes were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
CENTCOM had not publicly disclosed any strikes against Iranian military targets since Sept. 1. President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to downplay the extent of the fighting in the Middle East in the weeks leading up to the midterms.
Republican candidates across the country have struggled to overcome broad opposition to the Iran war among Americans. The conflict in the Middle East has upended the global economy and driven up fuel prices, contributing to voter concerns about affordability.
Speaking at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool earlier on Nov. 2, Trump said the Iran war is "not a war."
"I don’t know if you even call it a war because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months," he added.
The strikes on Iranian military targets come as Vice President JD Vance has led a diplomatic effort to restart peace negotiations in the days before the midterms. Trump had repeatedly suggested he could restart major military operations against Iran after the election.
Vance told reporters on Nov. 2 that Washington has not set a deadline for Tehran to agree to a ceasefire and that Trump retains both military and non-military operations.
Vance said that he recently spoke with Trump about the state of the negotiations with Iran and that U.S. officials recently had several "good conversations with the Iranians."
"We’ve certainly made some progress," he added. "We’ll see if we can make some more."
