The United States launched strikes on Iranian targets, a U.S. official said, in what appeared to be a limited operation on the eve of Tuesday’s crucial midterm elections.
Iranian state media reported explosions being heard on the islands of Qeshm and Hengam in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and in the nearby mainland area of Bandar Abbas. Unlike earlier in the war, the strikes were not publicly announced.
President Donald Trump previously said the U.S. wouldn’t launch strikes on Iran before the midterms. The unpopular war and the resulting impact on U.S. gasoline prices and other parts of the economy have been a vulnerability for his Republican Party as it tries to keep control of Congress.
A U.S. official, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Monday that the strikes targeted Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against the U.S. in the strait. The move came as Iran said it had a two-day plan to reopen the critical waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil supply flowed during peacetime, and resume nuclear talks with the United States.
Back-channel negotiations have also been playing out as Israel and some Middle East allies lobby Trump on the way ahead in the more than 8-month-old war that’s rattled the global economy and wreaked havoc on Iran.
Speaking before the U.S. official confirmed strikes, U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters Monday that he and Trump “both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement.”
The Trump administration was last known to have carried out attacks in early September. But thousands of U.S. troops remain in the waters off Iran to maintain a naval blockade aimed at preventing tankers carrying Iranian oil from reaching the global market. Another aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are also on their way to the Middle East.
The region is on edge about the prospects of the U.S. resuming full-scale operations against Iran, and the new strikes are likely to renew concerns.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed for another wave of strikes on Iran after the U.S. elections, according to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter.
A return to full-scale war with Iran could help Netanyahu form an emergency government after he and his far-right allies lost their parliamentary majority in last week’s elections. Trump has alternated between threatening major strikes and pushing for a deal with Iran.
The two officials said diplomatic efforts have made progress and that mediators are trying to advance a framework for Iran to cease its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz in return for the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports.
They said more talks are planned for this week. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified briefings they had received from American and, in one case, Israeli officials. The third person, who was briefed on the call, was not authorized to comment publicly and also spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Some people in Tehran were hopeful that the midterm elections would bring a shift in U.S. policies.
“The American people need to make a fundamental decision and bring about real change. They need to put an end to the leadership of someone who is so extreme and who runs things through lies, someone who supports Israel, a country that is literally killing children,” said 69-year-old Reza Rezaei.
He said he hopes for changes that will “bring about peace and stability, not just for Americans, but for the whole world.”
One woman was less optimistic.
“It doesn’t really make much difference who comes into power," said Raheleh Movahhed, also of Tehran. “The American government and its policies have always had a problem with us. I’m not talking about the American people, mind you. I’m talking about their policies.”
Iranian state television quoted the country’s chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, as saying on Tuesday that Iran had “delivered a firm and rational response to the American side. The ball is now in America’s court to prevent war.” It was not immediately clear what response he was referring to.
Qalibaf also warned that Iran’s armed forces remained at the highest level of defensive readiness.
“If Washington makes another strategic miscalculation, it should know that this time it will face a new battlefield and will find itself even more desperate than it is today,” he said.
Iran opened its third military training center in Tehran on Monday as authorities announced plans to train 1 million paramilitary volunteers nationwide, amid fears of renewed conflict.
Members of the Basij, a paramilitary force affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, attended the inauguration, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.
“Starting this week, across the country 1,500 training bases will start working in all cities and towns, and will aim for training 1 million sacrificial volunteers,” said Ali Kowsari, the Basij’s deputy head for training.
Two similar centers previously opened in Tehran in August and September.
Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Cara Anna contributed to this report.
A woman crosses a street beneath a billboard depicting U.S. President Donald Trump behind bars and calling for his killing in central Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A bird flies low over the water as cargo ships lie at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, early Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
