President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday that US forces struck Iranian air defence systems on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz — the first US strikes on Iran since his Republican Party's midterm losses on Tuesday — while saying Washington had made "a lot of progress" in talks with Tehran. "We do minor strikes," Trump told reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida. "They knocked out – they built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device, and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five," Al Jazeera reported.
What happened on Qeshm?
Trump spoke shortly after Iranian state media reported two missile strikes in the Suza area of Qeshm Island, which lies in the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial route for oil shipments. State broadcaster IRIB also reported an Iranian army statement saying the country's air defence forces intercepted and destroyed an American MQ-9 drone over Qeshm Island. That drone claim is the Iranian army's account as carried by its state broadcaster; it has not been independently confirmed, and the extent of damage from the US strikes has not been established in the reporting opened for this article. In response to the reports of explosions on the island, US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, said the situation is "relatively calm"; a CENTCOM official told Al Jazeera the command was aware of the reports and had no further comment. On Monday, Iranian media had reported several explosions on Qeshm Island, as American media outlets reported that the US military carried out what officials called "defensive strikes" in the Strait of Hormuz — Friday's strikes, publicly confirmed by the president himself, are a separate and later round.
What is happening with the talks?
Trump told reporters several times on Friday that his administration was talking to representatives from Tehran. "We're dealing with them now. They want to make a deal," he said. "We've made a lot of progress with Iran," he added, without providing details. On Saturday, Qatar — the mediator between the two sides — dismissed reports claiming negotiations between the US and Iran have failed, warning that such claims benefit "only those seeking to prolong the war". "Promoting such false claims serves only those seeking to prolong the war and destabilise the region," said Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a post on X. Friday's strikes are the first since Trump's Republican Party was dealt a blow in Tuesday's midterm elections in the US; Trump blamed the election results on the Iran war, and since Tuesday he has shifted between threatening Iran and suggesting a resolution is near — on Thursday he said the US may have to "destroy" the rest of Iran, adding that people will "know soon enough" if he acts. CENTCOM also announced in a post on X late on Friday that the US is offering a reward of up to $20 million and possible relocation for information about Iran's nuclear programme, including its facilities, equipment, associated personnel and their movement.
This report is drawn from Al Jazeera English's November 7, 2026 report, opened and read in full via its rostered verbatim carrier Bytes Europe. President Trump's confirmation of the strikes is his own on-record statement; Iran's MQ-9 claim is the Iranian army's account via state broadcaster IRIB, attributed as such with its unconfirmed status stated, per the two-source rule. Market figures in the snapshot box are Friday's settlements checked by this site's War & Markets desk at 4:20 p.m. CT on November 6, 2026, and are not live prices.
