The U.S. military carried out a strike on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, just one day before the midterm elections, as President Donald Trump’s pre-midterm approval rating drops to the lowest of any president since 1946.
The Wall Street Journal revealed on Monday that the attack was just one of several that the Trump administration had been secretly carrying out against Iran in recent weeks.
A U.S. Navy F/A-18F and F-35, both assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 9, fly over the Point Mugu Sea Range in Southern California with a U.S. Air Force F-15 during Gray Flag 2024 on Sept. 24, 2024. Gray Flag is an annual large-force test event that brings the joint force together to test and evaluate multi-domain systems in a maritime environment, ensuring our nation’s warfighters are equipped with effective, interoperable systems that will help them deter aggression, protect our nation’s prosperity and security, and return home safely to their families. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Cmdr. Kory Hughs)
(Dec. 7, 2024) LT Steven Holcomb, attached to the Gunslingers of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 105, operates a F/A-18E Super Hornet on the flight deck during flight operations, Dec. 7, 2024. USS George H.W. Bush is in the basic phase of the Optimized Fleet Response Plan conducting flight deck certification.(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jayden Brown)
Unnamed officials told the newspaper that the strikes were “defensive in nature”. They were carried out in an effort to prevent Iran from attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed for more than eight months amid Trump’s war against Iran.
According to the officials, in one incident, a U.S. jet fighter fired on an Iranian target in self-defense after being targeted with a surface-to-air missile.
One official also told the Wall Street Journal that U.S. strikes had purposely been kept from the public to prevent Americans from knowing that combat operations were ongoing.
Trump Insists U.S. Has Not Been Involved in “Any Fighting For Months” Despite Strikes
Despite the strikes, Trump told reporters on Monday that the U.S. hadn’t “been doing any fighting for months.”
“We had a war with Iran. We won,” the president claimed. “I don’t know if you even call it a war.”
Trump made similar claims during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday evening, claiming, “This is not much of a war, Sean, because there hasn’t been shooting for months.”
Around 400 vessels carrying around 5,000 seafarers are still stuck in the Strait of Hormuz as Trump’s war with Iran shows no sign of ending soon.
According to the International Maritime Organization (IMO), more than 120 attacks on vessels have been recorded in the strait since the beginning of the war, with several vessels sunk and at least 24 seafarers killed.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez warned on Sunday that the strait was still “not safe to go through” and that there had been no confirmation that the strait had been “cleared of mines.”
President’s Approval Rating Continues to Drop Amid Iran War
The president has avoided making any new major strikes against Iran until after the midterm elections on Tuesday, after his approval rating cratered to just 34% as a result of the war and its subsequent economic effects, including a rise in fuel prices.
On Monday, a Reuters poll found that Trump’s approval rating continued to drop to just 32%.
According to the Pew Research Center, just 14% of Americans strongly approve of Trump’s handling of the Iran war, while two-thirds strongly disapprove of his handling of the conflict.
Former Trump Ally Says President is Considering a Nuclear Strike Against Iran
Former Trump ally Tucker Carlson claimed on Sunday that the president was deliberating on carrying out a nuclear strike against Iran following the elections, specifically at Pickaxe Mountain.
“The Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran,” warned Carlson, who cited an unnamed official with knowledge of the situation.
While critics of Carlson ridiculed the warning, Trump has repeatedly issued threats against Pickaxe Mountain, declaring on Monday evening that he “might need to go after Pickaxe” to stop Iran from restarting its nuclear program.
“We’ve knocked out their nuclear.
We still have to take care of, I would say, one or two sites, but we can do that in 10 minutes,” he told reporters on Saturday.
Iran Has Proposed Plan to Re-Open the Strait of Hormuz and Says the “Ball” is in Trump’s Court
Iran announced on Monday that it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the Trump administration agrees to a peace deal.
Reopening the Strait of Hormuz would be contingent on Trump agreeing to several Iranian demands, including lifting the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
“The ball is in the U.S. court, since our demands have been stated quite clearly,” said Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry. “No final deal can be concluded, and the Strait of Hormuz cannot be reopened in a safe state unless the naval blockade is lifted and Iran’s demands are met.”
About the Author: Charlie Nash
Charlie Nash is a journalist and author whose work has appeared in The Spectator, Mediaite, New Statesman, and the American Conservative, among other major publications. His reporting has appeared in The Washington Post, Fox News, the Daily Beast, MS NOW, NewsNation, Hannity, and more. You can follow Charlie on X at @CharlieNash and on LinkedIn.
