The United States has hit Iranian targets on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, hours before Americans started voting in the midterms. Washington calls the strikes limited and defensive. Tehran says the US reply to its peace terms isn't good enough, and it's keeping the strait shut until it gets what it wants.

Qeshm Island, Iran's largest island, lies in the Strait of Hormuz beside the Iranian mainland in a Landsat 7 satellite image. Photo: NASA Earth Observatory / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, modified.