00:00America just struck Iran again.
00:02On Friday, President Donald Trump confirmed it himself.
00:06United States forces carried out limited strikes on an Iranian air defense system on Kashmir
00:11Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
00:14His words were blunt.
00:16Quote, we do minor strikes.
00:18They built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes,
00:25maybe five.
00:27Iranian state media reported two explosions in the Souza area of Qeshm Island after the
00:32sound of an aircraft overhead.
00:34No casualties have been reported and Tehran has released no official word on damage.
00:40Qeshm is no random target.
00:42It is Iran's largest island, sitting in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries
00:48a huge share of the world's oil.
00:50Whoever controls this strait holds a grip on global energy.
00:53And this was not the first hit this week.
00:56On Monday, the United States military reported what it called defensive strikes in the same
01:02strait, with explosions heard on Qeshm and Hengam Islands and on the mainland near Bandar
01:09Abbas.
01:11The war itself began in February.
01:14Since then, the fighting has flared again and again, even as both sides keep talking about
01:18a deal to end it.
01:20Most of Iran's air defenses were already destroyed or badly degraded, American officials say.
01:26During Israel's bombardment in June last year and in the early stages of this conflict, that
01:31is why Friday's target was small, a single rebuilt system.
01:35But Tehran is telling a different story.
01:39Iranian state television says its air defenses...
01:42Washington is not backing away.
01:45The United States military command in the region described the situation as relatively calm
01:50and offered a $20 million reward for information about Iran's nuclear program.
01:55The timing matters.
01:57These are the first American strikes since Tuesday's midterm elections, when voters handed the Republicans
02:02a stunning defeat in both houses of Congress.
02:05The vice president himself linked that defeat to this war.
02:10And now, three days after the vote, the president has ordered new strikes, a signal that the war
02:17is not slowing down.
02:19The region is already on edge.
02:21On Thursday, an explosion aboard the tanker M.T. Velo Sapphire in the Persian Gulf killed
02:26one sailor.
02:27On Friday, an attack on a market in Yemen's Thais province killed at least 30 people.
02:32The oil market is watching every move.
02:35Brent crude settled below $100 a barrel on Friday, at $98.32, while American crude closed at
02:43$90.83.
02:45Traders are pricing in the risk, but not yet a full-blown crisis.
02:50Diplomacy has not stopped.
02:52Qatar, the mediator between Washington and Tehran, denied reports that talks to end the
02:58war had failed, saying both sides are still working toward an agreement.
03:04President Trump says he has made a lot of progress in those talks.
03:08Quote,
03:13But Tehran's warning on Saturday was just as blunt.
03:16Iran's army spokesman said its forces are stronger now than when the war began in February,
03:21and warned that any further American attack would bring an immediate response against
03:26American targets without geographical restrictions.
03:29So here is the picture, a 15-minute strike, a disputed drone claim, a $20 million bounty,
03:37and two sides still talking, while both prepare for the next round.
03:42The question now is whether this stays a war of small strikes and big warnings,
03:47or whether the next hit in the straight turns into something neither side can control.
04:07America just struck Iran again.
04:09The question now is what Tehran does next.
