President Donald Trump has confirmed that the United States carried out limited strikes on Iranian targets on Qeshm Island, describing the operation in a phone interview with Fox News on Tuesday as a “minor attack” that was over quickly. “As soon as it was finished, we hit it last night, very nicely,” he said.
The admission, coming hours before Americans voted in the midterm elections, is the first time Trump has personally confirmed what American officials had described anonymously a day earlier: a defensive strike on surface-to-air missile sites that Iran was allegedly using against American assets in the Strait of Hormuz.
What happened on Qeshm Island on Monday night
Iranian state media reported five explosions on Qeshm Island early Tuesday, with the state-run IRNA news agency saying residents heard the blasts and saw fighter jets overhead. Iranian outlets also reported explosions on the nearby island of Hengam and near the mainland port of Bandar Abbas, without saying what was hit or whether anything was damaged. No casualties have been confirmed by either side.
Trump told Fox News that the target was an anti-aircraft facility Iran had spent about two months building. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press, said the strikes hit Iranians who were “using surface-to-air missiles against US assets” in the strait. Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin, citing a US official, reported the operation was a response to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard firing at an American aircraft on Monday — defensive in nature, she said, and not the start of expanded strikes.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Monday’s strike was part of a series of limited US attacks carried out quietly in recent weeks, deliberately kept small so as not to signal a return to major combat. The last known American strikes before Monday dated to early September, according to the AP. No formal Pentagon statement has been issued about the operation, and the Israeli military has denied any involvement, AFP reported.
Trump’s words: “This isn’t war, it’s a very soft war”
Hours before the strikes were reported, Trump sat for a live Fox News interview with host Sean Hannity on Monday night, where he described the eight-month-old confrontation with Iran in strikingly mild terms. “This isn’t war. This is a very soft war,” he said, adding: “We’re not fighting a war. There hasn’t been shooting for months.” He also called the $30 billion spent on the Iran conflict so far “peanuts.”
Earlier that evening, when a reporter shouted a question about whether he would resume attacks on Iran after the midterms, Trump answered with a single word: “No.” His Tuesday confirmation of the Qeshm strike stood in contrast to that remark, though he again insisted the action was minor and that Washington maintains “complete control” of the Strait of Hormuz through its naval operations.
CBS News separately reported that a senior US official said the Revolutionary Guard had fired at an American aircraft before the strike, and Axios reported that a US fighter jet had eliminated a surface-to-air launcher in self-defence.
Iran’s answer: seven conditions, or Hormuz stays shut
Tehran’s response was swift and uncompromising. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, wrote on X on Tuesday that Washington’s reply to Iran’s seven conditions was “not convincing” — and that the Strait of Hormuz would stay shut to the United States until those conditions were fully addressed and acted upon.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei put the same condition in broader terms, saying any understanding is conditional on “an unequivocal commitment to stopping the war on all fronts, including Lebanon,” and that Tehran approaches diplomacy “with the utmost caution and complete distrust.” Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator, said Iran had “delivered a firm and rational response to the American side. The ball is now in America’s court to prevent war.”
The reported conditions include lifting the American naval blockade on Iranian ports, waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales, releasing frozen Iranian funds, and observing a ceasefire including in Lebanon. Qatar is mediating: a Qatari delegation spent more than three hours in Tehran on Monday on a revised draft agreement, both sides are reviewing the mediators’ proposals, and further talks are scheduled this week.
Why it matters for the world — and for Pakistan
Markets reacted immediately. Brent crude rose nearly two percent to $106.50 a barrel early Tuesday, the Associated Press reported. About one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime, so any prolonged closure of the waterway threatens global energy prices.
For Pakistan, the stakes are direct. The federal government cut petrol by Rs5.45 to Rs369.06 and diesel by Rs3.68 to Rs391.52 from 4 November — relief that a fresh oil-price shock could wipe out within weeks. Thousands of American troops remain in the waters off Iran maintaining the naval blockade on Iranian oil tankers, and another aircraft carrier with thousands more troops is on its way to the region, raising the risk of further escalation.
Diplomatically, Pakistan is walking a fine line: it has pledged to defend Saudi Arabia under the Mecca joint defence agreement while keeping channels open with Tehran — Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Iran in October for talks with the Iranian leadership. What to watch now: whether the Qatari mediation talks this week produce movement, and whether Washington resumes strikes after the midterms despite Trump’s one-word “No.”
Related Posts
World NewsUS Midterm Elections 2026: Americans Vote Today as Control of Congress Hangs in the Balance
World NewsTaliban Warns Pakistan and US Over Reported Plan to Deport Afghan Refugees via Pakistan
World NewsIslamabad Braces for US-Iran Peace Talks: Vance and Ghalibaf Expected This Weekend
World NewsLearjet 60 Crashes in Florida Neighbourhood, Killing All Nine on Board
World NewsMunich-Bound Vietnam Airlines Flight Diverts to Islamabad After German Passenger Suffers Seizure
World NewsUS to Deport 150+ Afghans Through Pakistan: Charter Flights from Louisiana Start as Early as MondayMost Popular
How-ToPTA Tax Calculator 2026: Check Mobile Tax on Any Phone402 views
Pakistan NewsPIA Boeing 787 Lease Deal: What It Means for the Airline382 views
SportsUEFA Champions League 2026-27: Format, Teams and Schedule375 views
Canada JobsTech Jobs in Canada: Roles, Salaries, and Skills Needed360 views
SportsBallon d’Or 2026: London Ceremony, Nominees and All-Time Records Ahead of 70th Anniversary337 views
ShowbizWomen’s Fashion in Pakistan 2026: Trends, Brands and Style Guide334 views
One comment