Several explosions were heard on Iran’s Qeshm Island late on Monday, according to Iranian media, as US outlets reported that the US military had carried out strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s state-owned IRNA news agency said the blasts came in rapid succession late on Monday, with witnesses reporting two planes flying over the island, which lies off Iran’s southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz. The semi-official Fars news agency said explosions were also heard in the port city of Bandar Lengeh, coming from the direction of the sea.
The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that the US military carried out the strikes. The Associated Press also cited a US official as saying the US had conducted defensive strikes against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, targeting Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets.
Reporters with Fox News and Axios said the attacks were in response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing at a US aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. Citing a US official, Fox News reporter Jennifer Griffin said the incident did not mark ‘the start of expanded strikes by the US’.
There was no immediate comment from authorities in Iran or the US, Al Jazeera reported.
Earlier on Monday, the IRGC had claimed it captured two US reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm and destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz.
The reported strikes come on the eve of crucial midterm elections in the US, and amid diplomatic efforts to prevent renewed attacks on Iran. US President Donald Trump wrote on Monday that a deal with Iran could happen soon, while Vice President JD Vance said he felt ‘pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement’.
Source: Al Jazeera — https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/3/explosions-hit-irans-qeshm-island-as-us-media-report-us-strikes-in-hormuz
Note: the featured image is illustrative only and is not a photo of the actual event.
