US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that American forces had struck Iran “last night”, hours after reports of an attack on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz and on the same day as Americans voted in high-stakes midterm elections.
Speaking on Fox News’ ‘Fox & Friends’, Trump said, “They built an anti-aircraft facility… As soon as it was completed, we hit it last night very nicely.” He described the strike as a “minor attack”.
During the same interview, Trump also announced that the US would end $4 billion in funding to Israel after the end of this year. These remarks came on Election Day, which pollsters suggested could be a setback for Trump, as Democrats were projected to win the House of Representatives and had a chance of gaining control of the Senate, according to several media reports.
Trump on Iran strikes
During the interview, Trump said, “I’m not looking to, you know, kill lots of people, but if we have to, we’ll have to. But I’m not looking to do that. And we’re very strong right now.”
He described Iran as the “number one state sponsor of terror in the world” and the “meanest”. He added, “I see why the Middle East was afraid of them. They’re very tough, but they’ve been decapitated.”
“They have no airplanes. They have no anti-aircraft. We took some out last night. It’s just a minor attack. It wasn’t war. They built an anti-aircraft facility. It took them about two months. We watched it get built, as soon as it was completed, we hit it last night very nicely,” he said.
Trump’s remarks come after Qeshm Island attack reports
Earlier, The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that American forces had struck Iran’s Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA also reported several explosions on Qeshm Island, near the entrance to the strait.
Unnamed US officials quoted by The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The New York Times and other media outlets described the strikes as defensive in nature. The Journal reported that the attack was the latest in a series of strikes that had not been publicly announced.
Qeshm Island is reportedly home to a large underground missile facility, a naval base and a major desalination plant. The US has struck the island in previous rounds of fighting, while officials have also discussed the possibility of seizing it.
The US and Israel began their war with Iran with a large wave of strikes in late February. The conflict has remained at a stalemate for months.
(With inputs from agencies)
