US strikes Iran's Qeshm Island after the IRGC fires missiles at an American aircraft on the eve of the midterms
Donald Trump, pictured with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, whose notably different tones on Iran — Vance voicing optimism over a diplomatic deal — emerged as polls opened on the midterms.Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian state media reported overnight explosions confirming the US strikes, just hours before midterm polls opened.
US strikes on Qeshm followed an IRGC launch of surface-to-air missiles against an American aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz. The island holds a subterranean missile facility, a naval installation and a large desalination plant; witnesses reported five blasts in quick succession and described two aircraft overhead.
US officials deliberately kept the strikes quiet, aiming to avoid any suggestion that full-scale combat operations had resumed.
Trump said Iran 'wants to make a deal very badly' but warned the US may still strike Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected nuclear site, adding it could be done 'in literally one hour'.
The war has cost US taxpayers at least $47.1 billion and driven surging gas prices, with Republicans facing a backlash at the polls on Tuesday.
