US strikes Iran's Qeshm Island in secret limited strikes Monday; oil rebounds ~0.5% in early Asian trading
What happened
The U.S. carried out limited strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday, first reported by the Wall Street Journal citing U.S. officials and confirmed by CNN with three officials. The strikes were described as defensive — aimed at preventing Iran from threatening commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz — and part of a series of small-scale, unpublicized strikes Washington has conducted for weeks without announcing them. In one incident Monday, the IRGC fired a surface-to-air missile at a U.S. fighter jet, which fired back in self-defense; in another, U.S. forces intercepted an IRGC missile originating from Qeshm that was targeting commercial shipping. Iranian state media reported several explosions on the island, and the IRGC claimed it shot down two U.S. reconnaissance UAVs south of Qeshm plus an MQ-9 series UAV east of the strait. Qeshm sits at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz and hosts a large underground missile site, a naval base, and a major desalination plant.
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Start your free 14-day trialWho’s affected
- Energy producers and refiners (rebounding risk premium after Monday's plunge); airlines/cruise operators (oil-cost relief faded); defense names; broad market via geopolitical tail risk on midterm election day