U.S. officials have confirmed to several media outlets in the country the carrying out of a series of "defensive" attacks after up to five detonations were detected on the Iranian island of Qeshm, located in the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz.
A senior U.S. official cited by the CNN network has explained that "This is a defensive measure in response to the use by the Iranians of surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets", while two other officials consulted by NBC and ABC television have stressed that these actions do not amount to the resumption of a large-scale war campaign against the Islamic Republic.
According to sources mentioned by the newspaper 'The Wall Street Journal', this offensive would be part of a series of limited attacks that Washington has been carrying out discreetly against Iranian targets in recent weeks, despite the statements by the President of the United States, Donald Trump --who has shown optimism about the possibility of reaching a diplomatic agreement--, in which he downplayed a possible return to open war with Iran after this Tuesday's midterm elections.
Iran says it has shot down three U.S. drones
Meanwhile, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard has reported the detection and destruction of a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone, claiming that it is the 55th aircraft it has managed to bring down. To this count it adds 14 MQ-1 Predator model drones whose neutralization it also attributes to its forces.
The Iranian news agency Tasnim, linked to this military body, has also indicated that the Revolutionary Guard itself shot down another two U.S. reconnaissance drones of the MQM-170 type during an operation carried out south of the island of Qeshm.
Previously, the official Iranian agency IRNA and other national media had reported five consecutive explosions recorded in Qeshm, apparently inside the island.
Residents of the area have indicated having seen two planes flying over Qeshm, although, according to the agency, it has not been possible to determine whether these sightings are related to the detonations, while the Iranian local and provincial authorities have still not offered any official explanation for what happened.