Qeshm Island attack: two missiles hit Suza, Iran says it downed US MQ-9 drone

Two missiles struck the Suza area of Iran’s Qeshm Island, in the Strait of Hormuz, late on Friday night, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Hours later, Iranian state media said air defences had shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone over the island. Neither the US military nor Iranian officials gave details of damage or casualties by Saturday morning.

Asked whether the US was behind strikes near Qeshm, President Donald Trump did not confirm it directly. He said the US carries out “minor strikes” and that Iran had built “a little bit of an anti-aircraft device”, which US forces “knocked out in about 15 minutes”, the Jerusalem Post reported.

What happened on Qeshm?

According to the state news agency IRNA, residents heard an aircraft over the island before two projectiles hit the Suza area. Tasnim said there was no official information yet on damage and that it would give more details once authorities confirmed the incident. Iran has not said who fired the missiles.

Qeshm is Iran’s largest island and sits right in the narrow shipping lane of the Strait of Hormuz, which makes it one of the most watched places in this war. The US struck targets on Qeshm on the eve of the midterm elections earlier this week, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had destroyed a smaller US MQ-1 drone over the same island. The new MQ-9 claim has not been confirmed by the Pentagon.

The wider picture this week

• Tankers: a seafarer was killed on the Greek-managed tanker Velos Sapphire, hit on Thursday while sailing empty to Bahrain, its manager Velos Tankers said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said two other tankers hit mines after taking an “unauthorised route”; Trump has accused Iran of exaggerating such incidents to push up oil prices.
• Decision pending: Trump has said a decision on new US strikes is close, while also pointing to talks, CBS News reported.
• Mediation: Qatar’s prime minister said its mediation between Washington and Tehran is still stopping the situation from spiralling out of control, and Qatar denied reports that talks had failed.

Why it matters in Pakistan

Around a fifth of the world’s oil passes through Hormuz. Every flare-up near Qeshm moves crude prices, and Pakistan now changes petrol prices almost daily, so a strike there can show up at our pumps within days. Petrol has fallen five times in a row this week as oil cooled; a serious escalation could reverse that. Many Pakistanis also work on ships and in Gulf ports along this route.

What to watch next: whether Iran names who fired the missiles, whether the Pentagon confirms or denies the MQ-9 loss, and Trump’s promised decision on further strikes.