US launches ‘defensive’ strikes after Iran downs American drone (VIDEO)

Washington has reportedly been quietly bombing Iranian targets as fears of a wider conflict mount ahead of the midterm elections The United States has carried out a series of unannounced airstrikes against Iran in recent weeks, including an attack on Qeshm Island near the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the Wall Street Journal, NewsNation and Fox News have reported, citing American officials.The strikes have been deliberately kept limited and out of the public eye to avoid signaling a return to full-scale hostilities ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, the Journal reported. Some officials described the operations as “defensive,” claiming they were intended to prevent Iran from threatening commercial shipping through the strait.According to NewsNation, the US strikes targeted Iranian radar systems and missile launchers. A US official told Fox News that the attack came in response to Iranian forces firing at an American aircraft, insisting it did not signal a renewed military campaign.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) previously claimed to have shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone east of the Strait of Hormuz and captured two MQM-170 reconnaissance drones nea...