US attacks Iran ahead of America’s midterm elections

The US has launched strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, hours before millions of Americans cast their votes in the country’s midterm elections.

US officials described the strike as ‘limited’ and ‘defensive.’

Iranian state media, IRNA, reported five explosions on the island on Monday. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) also said in a statement that it brought down two US MQM-170 drones, which it described as reconnaissance aircraft, south of Qeshm Island and a US MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera reports.

Earlier on Monday, US President Donald Trump told reporters that he was in “no rush” to ramp up strikes on Iran, the BBC reports. The strikes occurred hours after that statement. The US and Iran have been at war since the US and Israel launched unprovoked attacks on Iran in February. Although there has been a lull in fighting in recent weeks, the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil passed, still remains closed due to the actions of the two militaries.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that on Tuesday, millions of Americans will cast their votes for lawmakers to represent them in the US House and Senate. The elections will determine whether Mr Trump’s Republican Party will still control the US Congress.