US officials say limited Qeshm strikes responded to IRGC fire on US aircraft

Trump says no rush to expand strikes and may target Pickaxe

US officials told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that limited US strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz were in response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps firing upon a US aircraft. The officials described the operation as limited.

Iranian state news agency IRNA reported several explosions on the island on Monday. The BBC said it had contacted US Central Command, or Centcom, the part of the US military responsible for operations in the Middle East, for comment.

The BBC report placed the developments ahead of the US midterm elections, which will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress. A ReutersImage caption in the report said Trump was facing falling polling numbers and pressure from within his party to end the war. The report said the war began when the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Earlier on Monday, Trump told reporters that he was in “no rush” to ramp up strikes on Iran. Trump told Axios, “One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially.” He added, “They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it.”

In an interview with Fox News on the eve of the midterm elections, Trump said the US “might need to go after Pickaxe,” a site linked to Iran’s nuclear programme. He called the possible operation “not a big deal” and said it could be done in “one hour.”

There had been mounting speculation in the last few days that the US could resume significant strikes in Iran after the midterms. When a reporter asked on Monday whether that was the case, Trump said “no.”

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told IRNA earlier that “very intensive” talks to try and end the war were under way with the US via mediators. He also said Tehran was prepared for both diplomatic and military scenarios “more than ever before” and that it was up to the US to choose between a “wise path” of negotiation or the “mistake of military aggression.”

Related BBC coverage said an intelligence chief warned that Iran was trying harder to target US personnel in the Middle East. Another linked report said Trump had said some munitions were low as the Iran war continued.