Trump orders Qeshm Island strikes days after midterm rebuke over Iran war

President Donald Trump said the United States has "total control" over its confrontation with Iran on Friday, hours after ordering what he called "minor strikes" on Iranian air defence systems on Qeshm Island near the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes were the first since Tuesday's midterm elections, in which Democrats won major victories amid voter frustration over the war and rising prices.

Trump said the US knocked out an anti-aircraft device in about 15 minutes or less. Iran's official news agency IRNA reported that two missiles struck Qeshm Island. The US had also struck the island the previous Monday, in what a US official described as a "defensive measure."

The operation marks a potential resumption of all-out war just days after American voters delivered a rebuke to Trump's handling of the conflict. It also sits awkwardly alongside his claim of control: the US is simultaneously escalating militarily and pursuing a diplomatic settlement.

Negotiations are continuing, mediated by Qatar. Pakistan's Defense Minister, Khawaja Asif, said Tuesday that the US and Iran are close to "some sort of an arrangement," adding that "things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal." Trump said "a lot of progress" was made in the talks.

At sea, the situation remains volatile. At least 11 ships were attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz over the past week, with three sinking, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations.

The human cost of the war remains contested. The Pentagon's public casualty database lists 19 service members as having died in support of operations in the Iran war. Internal accounting cited by US officials puts the number at no fewer than 22, with one official saying 23. The Pentagon has declined to reconcile the figures.

What "total control" means in practice is unclear. The US is striking Iranian targets, negotiating through intermediaries, and facing continued attacks on shipping in a vital waterway. Whether the strikes were timed in response to the election result is not known; officials have not said.