US strikes Qeshm after Iran attempts to shoot down American aircraft

US armed forces struck the territory of the Iranian island of Qeshm, where several powerful explosions were recorded. CNN reports this. This military escalation occurred against the backdrop of public warnings from US President Donald Trump, who recently urged not to call events in the Middle East a war.

Washington’s defensive response

US officials explain the reason for the attack as defensive necessity. According to their data, the Iranian side was using Qeshm Island as a base for shelling American military facilities and equipment. The direct trigger for the use of force was an incident during which the army of the Islamic Republic of Iran attempted to shoot down a US Air Force aircraft.

Diplomatic pressure ahead of elections

The irony of the situation lies in the fact that the attack on Qeshm coincided with a time when Donald Trump, on the eve of the mid-term Congressional elections, emphasised that US forces had “long since stopped shelling anything there”. The Republican expressed confidence that Tehran still desperately seeks to reach a peace deal, calling further diplomatic development of events a quite likely scenario.

Threats regarding the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear facilities

Despite statements about peace, according to reports, Trump plans to launch a new military operation in the Strait of Hormuz after the elections. US allies in the Middle East have already been warned about this. In addition, controversial propagandist Tucker Carlson publicly stated that the White House is preparing a nuclear strike on Iranian uranium enrichment facilities.