US bombs Iran ahead of midterm elections

The US has carried out limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz in response to the IRGC firing on a US aircraft, as Trump says he is in “no rush” to escalate and Iran says “very intensive” talks are under way.

The United States has launched strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, US officials told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, as reported by the BBC.

Iranian state news agency Irna reported several explosions on the island on Monday. The officials described the strikes as limited and a response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps firing on a US aircraft. The BBC has contacted US Central Command for comment.

The strikes come ahead of the US midterm elections, with President Donald Trump facing falling poll numbers and pressure from within his party to end the war, which began when the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Earlier, Trump told Axios: “One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it.” He also told Fox News the US “might need to go after Pickaxe [Mountain]”, calling it “not a big deal.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, told Irna that “very intensive” talks were under way via mediators, adding it was up to the US to choose between a “wise path” of negotiation or the “mistake of military aggression.”