Hearing an explosion on the Iranian island of Qeshm, and Trump believes that the war will end after the midterm congressional elections
Published 9 September 2026, 07:04 GMT
Last updated 4 minutes ago
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Iranian media reported hearing a “severe explosion” on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, without knowing the source of the explosion.
Media outlets, including the official Iranian news agency IRNA, indicated that the exact location of the explosion was not known, whether on land or in the water.
US President Donald Trump expressed his belief on Wednesday that the war on Iran will end immediately after the midterm congressional elections in November because Tehran is trying to influence the vote, but it will not be able to withstand American economic pressures for a longer period.
"I think the war will end immediately after the election because they can no longer hold out any longer. They are eager to try to influence the election," he told reporters before leaving to attend a Republican conference in Dallas.
Iran said on Wednesday that it attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the United States sank five Iranian oil tankers. The renewed fighting caused oil prices to rise sharply, with Brent crude surpassing $100 a barrel for the first time since July.
Trump's popularity has recently fallen to its lowest level ever due to voter dissatisfaction with the war on Iran and the worsening high-cost of living crisis.
The midterm elections, scheduled for November 3, 2026, are a referendum on the president.
Trump said that oil prices would also fall immediately after the war ended after the elections, acknowledging that diplomatic talks were still possible but not the preferred option.
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He added, "Yes, it is possible that negotiations will occur, but this is not something we are looking forward to."
The IAEA refers Iran to the Security Council
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The 35-nation Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency referred Iran to the United Nations Security Council, for the first time in 20 years, on Wednesday, due to its “breach” of its obligations related to nuclear non-proliferation, despite Iran, Russia and China’s appeal to the Council not to take this step called for by the United States and three European countries.
The decision comes as a follow-up to a previous decision adopted on June 12 of last year, that is, one day before Israel began bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities, and then the United States joined in the attacks shortly after, according to Reuters.
Although the Security Council is unlikely to take concrete measures against Iran because its allies Russia and China are permanent members of the Council and have veto power, this step represents an escalation in the diplomatic confrontation between Iran and Western powers.
Iran warned on Monday that it would respond if the resolution was adopted.
Iran had previously criticized the actions of the three European countries, and considered its new efforts to refer the Iranian nuclear file to the Security Council as evidence of the failure of the “snapback illusion.”
Before the vote, Iran, Russia, and China issued a joint statement at the Board of Governors meeting, in which they considered the draft resolution submitted by America and the three European countries (Germany, France, and Britain) to refer the Iranian nuclear file to the Security Council, as lacking a legal basis and inconsistent with the claim of commitment to diplomacy, and called on member states not to support the anti-Iran draft resolution.
Diplomats who attended the closed meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency told Reuters that the text, proposed by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, was approved by a majority of 23 votes in favour, three votes in opposition, and eight abstentions. They pointed out that the countries that opposed the decision were Russia, China and Niger.
Mutual attacks
On Wednesday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard attacked what it said was a US military base in Jordan in response to strikes carried out by the United States targeting Iranian oil tankers, while also announcing on Wednesday the maritime no-go zone it imposed outside the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that a restricted maritime area will extend from Chabahar in Iran to parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, with its precise coordinates to be announced later.
This announcement comes after official media quoted Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as saying on Sunday that Iran will establish a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days.
The Iranian official news agency "IRNA" also quoted the Revolutionary Guard in a statement saying that it targeted "the maintenance, equipping and stationing hangars of F-35, F-16 and F-15 fighters, in addition to the fighter aircraft shelters at the Azraq base in Jordan" located 100 kilometers from the capital, Amman.
For its part, the Jordanian army stated in a statement on Wednesday that its air defenses dealt with 20 ballistic missiles originating from Iran that targeted the Kingdom and intercepted 18 of them, while two missiles landed in a remote area, stressing that there were no casualties.
Shortly before that, the Revolutionary Guard warned that it would target oil tankers in Kuwait and Bahrain, calling on crews to “leave their ships immediately,” according to IRNA.
For its part, US Central Command (CENTCOM) denied hitting two American destroyers in the Middle East, and said that the Revolutionary Guards' claim of hitting them was "completely false."
Centcom said in a statement on the X platform on Wednesday: “No US warship was hit; all attacks launched by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps failed at the same time.”
The statement added: “American forces succeeded in destroying 10 Iranian tankers just last week. These ships were part of the shadow fleet network that funds the Revolutionary Guard with billions of dollars, and Iran cannot defend them.”
The Revolutionary Guard announced later on Wednesday that it had attacked two American ships, eight oil tankers, and 10 “violating ships” that were trying to cross through the Strait of Hormuz, according to IRNA.
The US Central Command (Centcom) said on Tuesday that it "destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers on September 8, after the Iranian Revolutionary Guard targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days."
It noted that the American warship "succeeded in avoiding Iranian attack attempts and continued its patrols in territorial waters, without any casualties among American personnel."
Tanker war
Peninsula Company said on Wednesday that a sailor was killed in an incident involving the Gibraltar-flagged oil products tanker Hercules Star, while it was anchored off Dubai.
Peninsula, the ship's charterer, said in a statement: "It is with great sadness that we confirm that there has been one death," without providing details about the cause of death.
She continued: “In addition, one of the crew members is still missing, and a specialized team is working to determine his location. The safety of all other crew members has been confirmed.”
Preliminary assessments from maritime security sources indicate that it is possible that the ship was targeted by a drone.
The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority, which is linked to the British Navy, said separately that it had received a report of a ship leaning on its side 24 nautical miles off Port Rashid in the UAE while it was anchored, “which may indicate water leaking into it following an attack with an unknown projectile.”
They confirmed that there were no reports of injuries among the 22 crew members.
The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said earlier that several commercial ships in the northern Gulf and the Gulf of Oman were exposed to fire that led to them stopping during military activity in the region during the night.
