WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the U.S. military on Friday carried out new limited strikes on Iran, targeting an Iranian air defense system.
Iranian state media reported the sound of two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm Island, which is in the crucial waterway for oil shipments.
Trump in an exchange with reporters described the military action as “minor.”
“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 told reporters shortly after arriving in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday evening.
Trump did not offer further details about the target. But U.S. officials have reported that most of Iran’s air defense systems were destroyed or severely degraded during a June 2025 bombardment by Israel and in the early stages of the current conflict. U.S. officials have assessed that Iran would try to rebuild them and other military infrastructure over time.
The U.S. military also reported carrying out what it described as defensive strikes on Monday. Explosions were heard on the islands of Qeshm and Hengam in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and in the nearby mainland area of Bandar Abbas.
Friday’s strikes are the first since Trump’s Republican Party was dealt a stunning repudiation in Tuesday’s midterm elections in the U.S.
The electoral setback — Republicans lost both chambers of Congress — was stoked in part by voter dissatisfaction with Trump’s execution of the conflict and elevated fuel prices, a byproduct of the war that’s affected nearly every sector of the global economy.
In the days since Republicans’ shellacking at the polls, Trump has vacillated between threatening to “destroy” Iran and suggesting a resolution to the war is near.
Nuclear program reward
U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, announced in a post on X late Friday that the United States was offering “a reward of up to $20 million and possible relocation for information about Iran’s nuclear program, including its facilities, equipment, and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific community, or the movement of any of the above.”
The post included a link to the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program.
Differences with Iran over its nuclear program remain the thorniest issue and one that Trump insists must be resolved as part of any deal meant to end the more than 8-month-old war.
Trump noted earlier Friday in an exchange with reporters that mediators’ discussions with Iran continue.
“We are talking to Iran. We have been,” said Trump, who insists the U.S. military remains in control of the conflict with a battered Iran.
Yet, Tehran insists on several concessions from the U.S., which Trump has declined in the past. Among the core demands Iran says must be met before engaging in nuclear talks: ending the U.S. blockade on Iran’s ports, lifting sanctions, unfreezing its assets, issuing compensation for war damage and ending hostilities throughout the region, including Israeli operations in Lebanon.
Iran has long maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has 972 pounds of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels of 90%.
Diplomatic efforts pick up following U.S. election
A flurry of diplomatic phone calls in recent days between leaders in the Persian Gulf and beyond has been aimed at easing tensions in the region. Concerns have mounted over the possibility that Trump could still order the U.S. military to carry out new strikes against Iran.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Friday with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, about developments, according to the Qatari government.
The Qatari government announced the call between the countries’ defense officials after confirming earlier Friday that Trump and Qatar’s emir had a separate call to discuss efforts to deescalate tensions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also held phone calls with his Iraqi and Tunisian counterparts on Friday to discuss tensions in the region. Araghchi and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein discussed Tehran’s vision for resuming negotiations with the U.S., according to Iraq’s News Agency.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who held two calls with Araghchi this week, said Friday in a post on X that it was critical that both sides demonstrate “flexibility” to achieve the “compromise solutions” necessary to prevent the region from sliding into a new wave of escalation.
Egypt’s top diplomat also held a phone call with his Emirati counterpart, Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to emphasize the importance of political negotiations to prevent another military confrontation that could fuel violence and destruction, according to a statement by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
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