US Officials Say Limited 'Defensive' Strikes Hit Iran's Qeshm Island Before Election Day as Hormuz Talks Stay Stuck

Eight months into the US-Iran war, and two days after Americans voted, the fighting and the diplomacy are running at the same time. The newest development is a set of limited US strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island that the administration did not announce.

Qeshm strikes

Three US officials said the military hit Qeshm Island on Monday, Nov. 2, the eve of Election Day. They described the action as defensive and aimed at protecting US assets in the region. One official said it answered Iran firing at a US aircraft. Another said Iranians had used surface-to-air missiles against American assets.

The Wall Street Journal first revealed the operation and reported that other such strikes have been carried out in secret before. One person familiar with the matter said the administration deliberately kept the attack quiet so as not to overstate a defensive move.

Iran's Fars News Agency reported "several explosions" on Qeshm early Tuesday local time. Residents of nearby Hengam Island and the port city of Bandar Abbas also heard them. Late Monday the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it had shot down two US reconnaissance drones over Qeshm. It is unclear whether that is connected to the strikes.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran reserves the right to defend itself. He played the incident down as part of an "ongoing war."

Qeshm sits about 14 miles from Bandar Abbas. It is central to Iran's effort to assert control over Hormuz, where roughly 20 million barrels of oil passed daily before the war. The US has hit the island before.

Where the talks stand

Qatari mediators held talks in Tehran and returned to Doha on Monday evening, a diplomat briefed on the discussions said. Each side is now separately reviewing the mediators' latest suggestions.

Iran says it can reopen the strait within two days if Washington meets seven demands. Iranian officials and media list lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports, releasing frozen assets and ending the war "on all fronts." Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday, Oct. 31, that Tehran has no immediate plans to meet US officials directly.

The US rejects Iran's claimed authority over the waterway. It also rejected an earlier Iranian offer to reopen within a week in exchange for similar concessions. Iranian officials told Reuters the sides remain far from a deal.

Vice President JD Vance struck a hopeful note Monday. "The president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement," he said. He had sent a letter last week to Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei. The White House has released few details. Trump said it concerned "medical supplies and various things."

Trump's posture

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Trump has not decided whether to resume major strikes and prefers a diplomatic outcome. Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago the same night that talks are "going fine," but that Iran is "not very reliable. They make a deal and then they back out."

He also said the US is "not in that much of a hurry" because it has "knocked down their Navy" and "knocked out their air force." He put the remaining nuclear targets at "1 or 2 sites," naming Pickaxe Mountain, and said "we can do that in ten minutes."

Netanyahu is pressing the other way. Two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter said the Israeli prime minister is lobbying for a new wave of strikes after the US election. He raised it in a weekend call with Trump, who would not commit, according to a person briefed on the call. One of the officials said Trump does not appear to have decided. Those accounts rest on anonymous sources, and the Israeli government has not publicly confirmed them.

Gulf states are lobbying for de-escalation. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Tuesday he urged Iran to show "flexibility" and spare the region "military escalation."

Shipping and oil

The strait remains dangerous. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said two unknown projectiles hit a tanker's engine room off Oman's northeast coast on Tuesday. No injuries or environmental impact were reported. Another vessel was hit near the same spot on Sunday.

Oil is falling anyway. On Wednesday morning WTI for December delivery was down 2.60% to $93.54 a barrel, and Brent was down 2.50% to $101.02. WTI has lost about 10% in three sessions. Ultra-low sulfur diesel was still at $4.4296 a gallon.

Bloomberg's Thursday market coverage said oil extended its decline on hopes for US-Iran diplomacy and that Trump says there are no immediate plans for new strikes. Mehvish Ayub of Bank of Singapore said geopolitical risks and the crude outlook remain uncertain.

What comes next

Democrats took both chambers Tuesday, and Democratic leaders are expected to invoke the War Powers Resolution in January to require explicit congressional authorization for further military action in Hormuz. John Kilduff of Again Capital said Trump can keep oil sanctions in place by executive order, while a Democratic Congress can push for de-escalation to secure commercial shipping.

More Qatari-mediated talks are planned this week, officials said. Whether Trump takes a deal, orders the broader strikes Netanyahu wants, or keeps running quiet "defensive" operations while talks continue is undecided. No date has been set for any of the three.