Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The US “secretly carried out” an attack on Iran’s Qeshm Island amid a series of limited military attacks that Washington has reportedly carried out against Tehran in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The reported attack on Monday came after US President Donald Trump indicated that a deal with Tehran remained possible, even as questions persisted over whether Washington would resume military action against Iran.
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In a post on Truth Social earlier in the day, the President claimed oil prices had fallen by nearly $10 a barrel, calling it a record drop, and said Tehran wanted a settlement quickly.
“Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible. It could happen!” Trump wrote.
The strike on Qeshm Island was the latest in a series of limited US attacks against Iran in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The newspaper, citing US officials, said Washington had kept the strikes small in scale and deliberately secret to avoid signalling an intention to resume its broader military campaign.
The reported attack followed several explosions on Qeshm Island, which lies in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media outlet IRNA.
Also on Monday, Trump had also played down the prospect of fresh military action against Iran.
Asked by reporters whether he was considering strikes after Tuesday’s US midterm elections, he replied, “no.”
IRGC claims capture of US drone
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy claimed it had captured a fourth US reconnaissance and decoy drone intact west of the Strait of Hormuz after taking control of its guidance and control systems, IRNA news agency said in a report.
The IRGC Navy said its electronic warfare unit detected and identified the MQM-170 drone during an operation on Monday before safely bringing it down without physically destroying it.
The Iranian force claimed the drone had been deployed to identify the country’s air defence systems along the Persian Gulf coast and over Qeshm Island.
The MQM-170 Outlaw, manufactured by US-based Griffon Aerospace, was originally designed to simulate aerial threats, test air defence systems and train personnel.
US LAST STRUCK QESHM ISLAND IN JUNE
The US last struck Qeshm Island on June 2, targeting what it described as an Iranian military ground control station used to direct drone operations.
At the time, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) had said that forces had intercepted three one-way attack drones launched towards civilian vessels transiting regional waters, along with multiple Iranian drones and ballistic missiles launched across the Middle East.
The US military subsequently carried out what it described as a self-defence strike on the drone control facility on the island.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
