U.S. Strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island After Missiles Target American Aircraft; Trump Calls It a ‘Very Soft War’
U.S. forces struck Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night after Iranian forces fired at an American aircraft, U.S. officials said. They stressed the strike was limited and defensive, not a return to full-scale war.
“This was a defensive measure for Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets,” one U.S. official told NBC News. Another said Iran had tried to target a U.S. aircraft again, prompting the strike to take out the launcher, and described it as part of ongoing operations.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has routinely shot at U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft over the strait in recent weeks, the official said. U.S. forces are also intercepting drones and missiles aimed at commercial shipping every day.
Iranian state media reported five explosions on the island. It was the first known U.S. strike on Iran since early September.
‘When Was the Last Time We Fired Anything?’
Hours after the strike, President Donald Trump told Sean Hannity the eight-month conflict is not a “forever war.”
“We’re not fighting a war … When was the last time we fired anything? This isn’t a war, this is a very soft war,” Trump said. “This is not much of a war, Sean, because there hasn’t been shooting for months.”
He also left the door open to more. “We might have to go after Pickaxe [Mountain], but that’s not a big deal,” he said. “We can do it in literally one hour.” U.S. and Israeli officials believe Iran moved some of its advanced centrifuges and enriched uranium to the mountain.
“It could happen if they don’t make a deal. But they want to make a deal very badly, and there is a very good chance we make a deal,” Trump added.
‘No Rush’ on Restarting the War
Earlier Monday, Trump told Axios he is “in no rush” to decide whether to resume full combat. “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 said.
Axios reported that Trump’s advisers are split three ways. Vice President JD Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff favor a deal. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu want to finish the job militarily. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio favor keeping up the economic squeeze.
Qatari mediators have drafted a three-day sequence of confidence-building steps meant to restart direct U.S.-Iran talks, according to regional sources cited by the outlet.
Vance sounded upbeat before word of the strike broke. “The president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We’re going to keep on working at it,” he said.
Tehran Says the Ball Is in Washington’s Court
Iran says it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the U.S. lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports and ends hostilities, Al Jazeera reported. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said “the ball is in the US court.”
The Revolutionary Guard also claimed Monday that it captured two U.S. reconnaissance drones near Qeshm and destroyed an MQ-9. U.S. officials have not confirmed those claims.
Oil, which fell sharply Monday on hopes for a deal, ticked back up early Tuesday. U.S. crude rose $1.60 to about $98 a barrel.
The war, which the Pentagon estimates has cost taxpayers more than $47 billion, hangs over today’s midterm elections as gas prices remain a top voter concern.
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