Iran unveils chilling 'Kill Trump' mural in central Tehran

The US struck Iran's Qeshm Island — which houses an underground missile facility and naval installation — after Iran's Revolutionary Guard fired surface-to-air missiles at an American aircraft. Officials described the operation as "defensive" and deliberately low-profile, aimed at avoiding any signal of resuming full-scale military operations. The strike came just hours before Americans headed to the polls for Tuesday's midterm elections, where the eight-month-old conflict has emerged as a key liability for Republicans.

Trump told Fox News that Iran had "no airplanes, no anti-aircraft" left, and the US had sunk 159 of its ships.

According to Pentagon estimates, the war has drained more than $47 billion from the public purse, hammering Republican poll numbers on the eve of the vote.

Backchannel talks are continuing, with JD Vance having sent a letter to Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei in the past week — though Reuters was told by a senior Iranian official that the two sides remain nowhere near an agreement.