President Donald Trump said American forces carried out a limited strike against Iran that destroyed an Iranian anti-aircraft installation within minutes, speaking to reporters shortly after arriving in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday evening.
“They built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device, and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five,” Trump said, describing the action as “minor strikes.”
Iranian state media reported that two missiles struck Qeshm Island, with witnesses describing aircraft overhead before explosions near the city of Suza. The extent of the damage has not been confirmed. U.S. Central Command told Al Jazeera the situation around the island was “relatively calm,” acknowledging the reports without offering further detail.
In a separate development Saturday, Iranian military officials claimed their forces shot down an American MQ-9 drone over Qeshm, a claim U.S. officials had not confirmed.
The reported strike followed an earlier American operation on the same island this week, when U.S. forces destroyed an Iranian surface-to-air missile launcher after it fired toward an American aircraft. Trump said Tuesday that American forces had tracked construction of the anti-aircraft installation for roughly two months before destroying it shortly after it was completed.
Qeshm Island, in the Strait of Hormuz, hosts Iranian military installations including an underground missile facility and a naval base near shipping lanes where American forces have maintained a blockade of Iranian ports. U.S. officials say much of Iran’s air defense network was destroyed or badly degraded during Israeli strikes in June 2025 and the early stages of the current conflict.
Decision on Broader Action Looms
The renewed strikes come as Trump weighs a wider campaign against Iran now that the midterm elections have passed, having previously said he would hold off on major escalation until voting concluded.
During a White House meeting Thursday, senior national security officials laid out options for the next phase of the confrontation, including expanded military operations, while other advisers pushed for continued negotiations and economic pressure. Trump told reporters at the White House after the briefing that he would decide “soon” whether more military action was needed to stop Tehran from rebuilding its nuclear capabilities.
“I would rather not destroy the rest of the country if possible, but maybe I’ll have to,” Trump said.
Still, Trump signaled Friday that a diplomatic deal remained within reach, saying Washington had made “a lot of progress” with Tehran.
“We’re dealing with them now. They want to make a deal,” he said.
Diplomatic Track Continues
Vice President JD Vance has been engaged in intensive talks with Qatari and Pakistani intermediaries, alongside contacts involving Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Trump spoke Friday with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as mediators worked toward a possible agreement.
Under a two-day proposal being discussed through Qatar, Washington would lift its naval blockade and release some frozen Iranian assets in exchange for Iran allowing International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors access to nuclear facilities damaged by American and Israeli strikes. Iran would then reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a temporary arrangement based on an understanding with Oman that Washington has not yet approved, potentially opening the door to broader talks over Tehran’s nuclear program and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Tehran has said Washington must first lift sanctions and the naval blockade, release frozen assets, pay compensation for military damage, and end hostilities across the region, including in Lebanon, before substantive talks can proceed. Trump has rejected those conditions, and Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, has said the Strait of Hormuz will stay closed until Tehran’s demands are met.
Qatar said Saturday that mediation efforts remained active, pushing back on reports that negotiations had broken down. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he had spoken with a dozen regional counterparts over the previous two days.
Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia warned Saturday that further American or Israeli attacks would draw an immediate response with no geographical limits, saying Iran’s armed forces were on heightened alert. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict’s opening strikes, was quoted by state media warning the confrontation would spread if Washington resumed military operations and dismissing any expectation that the midterm elections would shift American policy.
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