Qeshm: the night of the US strikes and the Iranian claims – Revolutionary Guards say the 2,000 km missile-range limit “has been lifted”

The night of Friday, November 6 into Saturday, November 7 brought a new round of US strikes on Qeshm, the island in the Strait of Hormuz, and new Iranian claims about shooting down US drones. The events followed Tehran’s nuclear proposal via Qatar and came hours after the Revolutionary Guards claimed they shot down two US MQM-170 drones and an MQ-1 over the island, the 16th of this type by their count. In total the Guards now count 72 US MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones (16 and 56 respectively). Washington has confirmed none of these losses.

The night

Around 23:13 Greek time, reports spoke of dense Iranian air defence fire over the island. Iranian state media reported two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm, and around 23:59 came reports that the US had hit Qeshm with two missiles. Shortly after midnight, a Kurdish source reported intense fighter activity over Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. During the night the Iranian Army announced that “new air defence systems” shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper over the island.

The night’s strikes were the first after the US midterm elections and follow the “defensive” strikes of Monday on surface-to-air missile systems around Qeshm, Hengam and Bandar Abbas. Donald Trump himself confirmed the operation to reporters, calling it “small strikes” and saying US forces neutralised an anti-aircraft system “in about 15 minutes, maybe five.” CENTCOM called the situation “relatively calm.” Late on Friday it posted on X that the US is offering a reward of up to $20 million for information on the Iranian nuclear programme.

What Iran said on Saturday

Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said Iran’s armed forces are “stronger” than at the start of the war, that they retain control of the Strait of Hormuz and that it will stay closed until the US accepts Tehran’s terms. He added that, by order of the Supreme Leader, the armed forces’ response will be “immediate, effective and without geographical limits,” wording that Mojtaba Khamenei had also used.

The most worrying statement for Europe came from the Revolutionary Guards. Their spokesman, General Hossein Mohebbi, told a press conference in Tehran that the self-imposed 2,000-kilometre limit on the range of Iranian ballistic missiles “has been lifted.” He did not clarify whether Iran already has longer-range missiles, saying it would show this “in practice.” A radius of 2,000 kilometres from Iranian territory already covers parts of Greece and the Balkans.

On the diplomatic front, Mr Trump insists the talks continue and that “a lot of progress” has been made. Qatar’s foreign ministry, which is mediating, rejected as “false” reports that the negotiations have stalled.