Trump says US hit Iran air defence site in 'minor' strikes

West Palm Beach — US forces carried out new limited strikes on Iran on Friday, targeting an air defence system, President Donald Trump told reporters — the first such action since his Republican party's heavy defeat in Tuesday's midterm elections. Iranian state media reported two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm Island, in the Strait of Hormuz, the oil-shipping chokepoint disrupted since the US war on Iran began in February.

Trump described the operation as "minor". "They built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five," he said on arrival in West Palm Beach, Florida, the Guardian reported. He gave no further detail on the target.

US officials have said most of Iran's air defences were destroyed or severely degraded in Israel's June 2025 bombardment and in the early stages of the current conflict, and assess that Tehran would try to rebuild them over time, according to The Hindu. The US military had also reported "defensive" strikes on Monday, when explosions were heard on Qeshm and Hengam islands and in the mainland area of Bandar Abbas.

The strikes come days after voters punished Republicans at the polls, a setback stoked in part by dissatisfaction with Trump's handling of the war and high fuel prices. Since then he has swung between threatening to "destroy" Iran and suggesting a resolution is near. "We are talking to Iran. We have been," he said on Friday.

Diplomacy is accelerating alongside the bombardment. Qatar, the chief mediator, has presented Iran with proposals aimed at narrowing differences over Tehran's nuclear programme, officials from both governments said. One official said Iran remains unwilling, for now, to negotiate over its atomic activities until the US accepts core conditions Tehran has demanded as part of any ceasefire. The nuclear file remains, as the South China Morning Post noted, the thorniest issue — one Trump insists must be resolved in any deal.

Trump and Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, spoke by phone about de-escalation, and US defence secretary Pete Hegseth held a separate call with his Qatari counterpart, Doha said.

Meanwhile, US Central Command announced a reward of up to $20m for information on Iran's nuclear programme, including its facilities and scientific personnel. For the shipping crews and Gulf states waiting on the strait, the question is whether the calls outpace the strikes.