The United States launched strikes on the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz, US officials told CBS, the BBC’s US partner. Officials described the strikes as limited and said they were in response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing on a US airliner. Iran’s state news agency Irna reported several explosions in Qeshm on Monday. The IRGC did not comment, but said its forces had shot down two MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of the island, as well as an MQ-9 drone over an area east of the Strait of Hormuz. The BBC has contacted US Central Command (Centcom) for comment on the attacks, which occurred ahead of the US mid-term elections in February. Earlier Monday, he told reporters he was “in no rush” to escalate attacks on Iran. “One way or another, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially,” he told media outlet Axios. “They have no money or gas and their people are getting very tired of it.” He also said the United States “might have to go after Pickaxe.” [Mountain]”, an underground site linked to Iran’s nuclear program, in an interview with Fox News on the eve of the midterm elections. This was “no big deal” and could be done in “an hour,” Trump added. There has been growing speculation in recent days that the United States could resume significant attacks on Iran again after the midterm elections. But when asked by a reporter on Monday if that was the case, Trump said “no.” Meanwhile, the Associated Press cited two regional officials who said the same thing, during a phone call at the end of week. On that call, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pressured Trump to launch another wave of attacks on Iran after the midterm elections.
