The U.S. reportedly struck Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday, according to officials who told The Wall Street Journal that Washington has been conducting "limited strikes" against Iran in recent weeks. The military campaign has been kept quiet to avoid signaling intent for major combat escalation, an unnamed official said.
Qeshm Island, the largest island in the Persian Gulf off Iran's southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz, has emerged as a U.S. target because anti-ship missiles, mines, drones and attack craft are stored there in underground tunnels, the report said.
Vice President JD Vance told CNN on Monday that "the president and I both feel really good about the prospect of potentially coming to a negotiated settlement" with Iran. He said the administration has not set a deadline for reaching a peace deal. Vance also stated that Iranians are "unpredictable" and that Trump retains "kinetic and non-kinetic" options against Tehran.
Trump said Monday that the U.S. must prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. In a Fox News interview Monday night, Trump said the U.S. has "bombed out all of Iran's potential nuclear power" but might target Pickaxe Mountain next, an underground nuclear facility south of Iran's Natanz enrichment plant. Trump said the U.S. could destroy it in one hour.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Nov. 1 that Trump would prefer to resolve the Iranian situation "diplomatically" and does not prefer to use military force.
A poll cited in the article showed that only 31% of Americans support military action against Iran.