The United States has conducted military strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. officials speaking to CBS News, the BBC’s American partner.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported multiple explosions on the island on Monday.
U.S. officials characterized the operation as limited and stated it was a direct response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing upon a U.S. aircraft.
The BBC has requested comment from U.S. Central Command (Centcom), which oversees military operations in the Middle East.
The escalation arrives just days before the U.S. midterm elections, which will decide partisan control of Congress.
The administration has faced declining poll numbers and internal party pressure to conclude the conflict, which erupted in February following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Earlier Monday, the president told reporters he was in “no rush” to escalate military action against Iran.
“One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially,” he told Axios. “They have no money, no gasoline, and their people are getting very tired of it.”
In a separate Fox News interview on the eve of the midterms, the president suggested the U.S. “might need to go after Pickaxe,” a facility linked to Iran’s nuclear program, dismissing it as “not a big deal” that could be accomplished in “one hour.”
Despite recent speculation that the U.S. might resume significant strikes after the elections, the president explicitly ruled out that possibility when questioned by a reporter on Monday.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told IRNA that “very intensive” negotiations to end the war are underway via mediators.
Araghchi added that Tehran is prepared for both diplomatic and military scenarios “more than ever before,” stating the onus is on Washington to choose between a “wise path” of negotiation or the “mistake of military aggression.”