Trump confirms new US strikes on Iran’s Qeshm island

US President Donald Trump has confirmed United States military strikes on Iran’s Qeshm island, claiming that Washington has made “a lot of progress” in talks with Iran. Trump said on Friday that US forces had carried out what he described as minor strikes against Iranian air defence systems.

“We do minor strikes,” Trump told reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida. “They knocked out – they built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device, and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five.” Trump spoke shortly after Iranian state media reported two missile strikes in the Suza area of Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for oil shipments.

State broadcaster IRIB also reported an Iranian army statement, saying that the country’s air defence forces intercepted and destroyed an American MQ-9 drone over Qeshm island. In response to reports of explosions heard on Qeshm, US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, said the situation is “relatively calm”.