US strikes Iran ahead of midterm elections
US officials described the attacks on Qeshm Island as limited and defensive, according to CBS, the BBC's US partner.
US carries out strikes on Iran before midterm elections
Trump has been under pressure from declining poll numbers and from members of his own party to bring the war to an end
The US has carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, US officials told CBS, the BBC’s US partner.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that several explosions were heard on the island on Monday.
The US officials said the strikes were limited and were carried out in response to the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing at a US aircraft.
The development comes ahead of the US midterm elections, which will decide whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress.
Trump has been facing falling polling numbers and pressure from within his party to end the war, which started when the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.
Earlier on Monday, he told reporters he was in "no rush" to increase strikes on Iran.
"One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially," he told news outlet Axios. "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, he also said the US "might need to go after Pickaxe", a site linked to Iran’s nuclear programme.
Trump added that this was "not a big deal" and could be done in "one hour".
In recent days, speculation has grown that the US could resume major strikes in Iran after the midterms. But when a reporter asked him on Monday whether that was the case, Trump said "no".
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told IRNA earlier that "very intensive" talks aimed at ending the war are under way with the US through mediators.
He also said Tehran was ready 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".