The US has launched strikes on the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz

The United States has launched strikes on the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz. As reported by BBC News citing American sources, the operation was of a limited defensive nature and was a response to the shelling of an American aircraft by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Iranian state agency IRNA recorded a series of explosions on Qeshm Island on Monday. IRGC representatives reported that Iranian forces had shot down two American MQM-170 drones south of the island, as well as an MQ-9 aircraft east of the Strait of Hormuz. The American military command has not yet commented on the incident.

The strikes took place on the eve of the US midterm congressional elections against a backdrop of increasing political pressure on President Donald Trump with calls to end the war. Earlier, Trump stated in an interview with Axios that he is in no hurry to expand the scale of the strikes, as Iran is already economically depleted. At the same time, in a conversation with Fox News, the head of state allowed for the possibility of an attack on the underground 'Fordow' facility, which is linked to the Iranian nuclear program.

In parallel, Qatar and Pakistan are continuing mediation efforts to resolve the conflict. Tehran's chief negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bager Ghalibaf, stated on Tuesday that preventing war now depends solely on the actions of the United States. A key issue in the negotiations remains the opening of the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the lifting of the American naval blockade and the unfreezing of Iranian assets.