The United States struck Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday night, a day before the midterm elections, US officials have now confirmed. It is the first time Washington has owned up to weeks of attacks along Iran's southern coast that it never announced.
Iran's state news agency IRNA reported five explosions on the island, and residents of Hengam and the port city of Bandar Abbas also heard blasts. Further explosions were heard from the sea near Bandar Lengeh, further west along the coast. Neither agency gave a cause, casualties or damage.
Israel's N12 said the strike hit an air defence system on the island. Earlier that evening the Revolutionary Guards said they had downed two US drones near Qeshm, a claim the United States has not answered.
