The United States attacked the Iranian island of Qeshm on Monday, US officials said. The Wall Street Journal reports it, confirming what was reported by the Tehran media. This is the latest in a series of limited missions that Washington has secretly conducted against the country in recent weeks, even as President Donald Trump continues to raise the possibility of a diplomatic agreement. The offensive comes after some statements by the tycoon which have effectively downplayed the hypothesis of a resumption of hostilities against Iran after the mid-term elections.
In fact, Iran accelerates negotiations with the USA with Khamenei's green light to prevent the war from resuming.
Iranian authorities have executed two men by hanging for their involvement in the killing of four police officers during protests in central Iran in January. The judiciary made this known. “Amirhossein Maleki and Amirhossein Ebrahimi, two of the armed perpetrators of the crime committed in January 2026 in Isfahan – whose brutal and atrocious actions led to the martyrdom of four police officers – have been hanged,” reported Mizan Online, the judiciary's web portal. The executions were carried out "after a thorough legal examination of their cases and the confirmation of the death sentences by the Supreme Court", following appeals filed by the defendants, the report said. In December, a wave of protests broke out in Iran triggered by the sharp rise in foreign currency exchange rates; the situation quickly degenerated into anti-government demonstrations, which reached their peak on 8 and 9 January. Tehran has accused its bitter enemies, Israel and the United States, of fomenting the protests. According to official figures, over 3,000 people - including police officers and security forces personnel - were killed during the clashes, while foreign-based human rights organizations gave higher figures. According to Mizan, the two men "were among the main perpetrators of the crime", "were armed, present at the scene and carried out multiple criminal acts". The judiciary said they were "sentenced to death on charges of 'moharebeh' (waging war against God) and 'corruption on earth', through actions that compromised national security." At the beginning of October, the authorities had already executed Alireza Sepahi and Alireza Raissi, also involved in the same case. The number of executions in Iran has increased dramatically since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, which erupted at the end of February on the initiative of the United States and Israel. According to Amnesty International, Iran is the country which, after China, records the highest number of capital executions.
“If Washington were to make another strategic mistake, it would be faced with a completely new conflict scenario, in which it would look, even more desperately, for an escape route,” Ghalibaf said. "The United States and Israel seek to force Iran into submission through military threats and actions, but they are making mistakes; Iran will not submit," he added, stressing: "Our response to any misjudgment by the enemy will be unpredictable and will transcend geographic limitations. We will dismantle their miscalculations and annihilate their assets, both material and immaterial."
After the attacks on Qeshm Island, Iran, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Fox News that "we might have to hit Fordo (home of Iran's main and most protected underground uranium enrichment facility, ed.), it's not a problem." According to the tycoon, the United States can do it "within one hour and at any time it wants". He added: "Iran is not in a good position to negotiate. This is not a war, it is a very light war." The United States struck the Iranian island of Qeshm, in the Strait of Hormuz, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, just as Donald Trump had shortly before shown himself optimistic about negotiations with Tehran. The attack takes place on the eve of the midterm elections in the United States.
Trump stated that the US is not at war against Iran, citing as a comparison "World War I or World War II. When was the last time you saw us fighting them? Months and months go by, we talk.
They are not in a good negotiating position. Their economy is collapsing because of us. They have 301% inflation. They don't have money, they don't pay the soldiers, they don't pay the police force. We're not at war, you understand? Nobody would say we are at war. I mean, when was the last time we fired a shot? This is not the case, is it? It's a very mild form of conflict." The expenditure of "30 billion dollars" in the confrontation against Tehran "are crumbs, because we have recovered that amount many times as much, only with Venezuela" or Greenland" which is worth "5,000 billion dollars: it is a paltry sum compared to the money we have generated. Additionally, since I took office, we have created $25 trillion in value. 25 trillion. Think about it: no one has ever heard of it. No other country has done what we have achieved in the last two years. $25 trillion in wealth…no one has ever done anything like this,” Trump added.
We dealt a heavy blow by destroying their navy, 159 ships. But we cannot speak of a war in the traditional sense of the term. It's a kind of war, yes. It could escalate if they don't reach an agreement, but they desperately want an agreement." Donald Trump said this while speaking with Sean Hannity on Fox News, adding that "there are excellent chances of reaching an agreement. Of course, they would like to win. But the point is this: we act from a position of total strength. We can close the matter at any time. If I can reach an agreement, I prefer to do it: it would save many lives".
The United States attacked the Iranian island of Qeshm on Monday, US officials said. The Wall Street Journal reports it, confirming what was reported by the Tehran media. This is the latest in a series of limited missions that Washington has secretly conducted against the country in recent weeks, even as President Donald Trump continues to raise the possibility of a diplomatic agreement. The offensive comes after some statements by the tycoon which have effectively downplayed the hypothesis of a resumption of hostilities against Iran after the mid-term elections. "We had a war with Iran. We won," The Donald said on Monday. "I don't even know if it can be called a war, as there has been no fighting for months," he added. However, according to officials, the US has been engaged in small-scale attacks against Iran for several weeks: on Monday, explosions were reported on social media near the island of Qeshm. Some officials have described such actions as defensive in nature to prevent Iran from having the freedom to strike commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Qeshm is an island located at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz and is home to a large underground missile site, a naval base and a major desalination plant. In the past, the United States had already targeted the island in other phases of the fighting, and the possibility of occupying it was also discussed.
