Trump's first statement after the bombing of Iran on the eve of the midterm elections

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump did not directly address reports of new US strikes on Iran, in an appearance on Fox News, but he generally defended his decision to wage a “war” against Iran, noting at the same time that “there has been no actual fighting recently.” Everyone says you're at war, well, when was the last time we launched anything?

This is not a war, but a very soft war... There is no war going on right now, and a war may break out if they do not reach an agreement, but they very much want to conclude an agreement, and there is a very high chance of reaching it.”

Earlier, 3 American officials revealed to Ofoq News Network that, on Monday, the American army carried out limited strikes on the Iranian island of Qeshm, describing the operation as “defensive in nature and aimed at protecting American assets in the region.” One official explained that the attack was in response to Iran firing at an American plane, while another official said: “This was a defensive measure against the Iranians’ use of surface-to-air missiles targeting American assets.”

An informed source stated that the US administration deliberately kept the attack secret, in order to avoid exaggerating the portrayal of this defensive move, stressing that the strikes were aimed exclusively at protecting American assets. This attack does not appear to be part of the large-scale combat operations that officials were studying; The Wall Street Journal - which was the first to reveal the operation - reported that similar strikes had previously been carried out in secret.

However, this new move, which comes on the eve of the midterm congressional elections, represents a reminder that the situation with Iran remains unresolved, and that the combat option is still on the table. Qeshm Island - which is about 14 miles from the Iranian coastal city of Bandar Abbas - is a pivotal point that allows Iran to impose its control over shipping traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 million barrels of oil passed daily before the outbreak of war.

The United States had targeted the island earlier during the war. This attack comes at a time when Trump indicated, on Monday, that the diplomatic track with Tehran is still in place, as he wrote on social media that reaching an agreement is “possible.”

In the same context, his deputy, J.D. Vance, adopted a similar tone on Monday, telling reporters that the United States and Iran had “made some progress” toward finding a way out of the war. He said: "The Iranians are always characterized by unpredictability, and as the president always says, he reserves military and non-military options. But we have certainly made some progress, and we will see if we can achieve more."

He added that he had just spoken with Trump about the war, and that both felt "very optimistic" about the possibility of reaching an agreement.