U.S. forces struck Iranian air defense systems early on Nov. 7, hours after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it had shot down another American drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday that the strikes were “minor” and that U.S. forces knocked out an Iranian anti-aircraft device “in about 15 minutes, maybe five.” Washington has not confirmed the loss of any drone.
Trump also said talks through mediators were continuing. “We are talking to Iran. We have been,” he said.
According to Iranian state media, Iran is doing well in the war. However, no outside source has confirmed the IRGC’s claims of drone shootdowns and tanker damage. The IRGC said it shot down MQ-1 drones over Qeshm on Nov. 4 and Nov. 6, counting them as its 15th and 16th of the war. It also claimed to have downed an MQ-9 Reaper over the Strait on Nov. 4. As of that date, it put its combined total at 68 MQ-1 and MQ-9 drones since the war began.
The IRGC also said naval mines destroyed four tankers on Nov. 4 along a route it had declared prohibited, that it had seized two vessels, and that two more tankers struck mines on Nov. 6. CBS News reported “no confirmation of any of these incidents from maritime officials.” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which says U.S. forces cleared the main shipping lanes of mines, has called earlier IRGC mine claims “FALSE”.
On Nov. 5, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center, which reports attacks on commercial shipping, said a tanker had been hit by two unidentified projectiles about 50 nautical miles north of Madinat ash Shamal, Qatar.
The United States is enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports and oil terminals with more than 10,000 personnel. CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said on Oct. 30 that Iran had exported no oil since the blockade was reimposed in mid-July and that IRGC naval forces were absent from the Strait. “I didn’t see the IRGC out there, at all,” he said. “Iran’s navy is all at the bottom of the sea.”
During an Oct. 25 visit to the Strait, Cooper said, “This visit underscores our strong commitment to continued freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.” CENTCOM said U.S. forces had helped Gulf partners export more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil since summer and supported the passage of more than 3,000 commercial vessels through the Strait over the previous six months.
Iran has continued buying military goods despite the blockade. A Reuters investigation found that Iran had imported at least $2 billion in military equipment, explosives and heavy trucks since January 2025 through a network of more than 5,000 entities.
On Nov. 4, the State Department sanctioned two individuals and one entity based in Belarus, Russia and Nigeria for their roles in Iran’s efforts to obtain shoulder-fired air-defense missiles.
Iran is also seeking more weapons from Russia. On Nov. 5, the Financial Times reported that Russia had agreed to supply Iran with 90 helicopter-mounted launchers for precision-guided missiles. According to UNITED24 Media, the launchers are APU-L models designed for Mi-28 attack helicopters. Each carries two LMUR missiles, which Russia has used against Ukraine since 2022.
Russian defense industry documents obtained by the Ukrainian group Dallas Analytics show a 2024–2025 production schedule listing China and a customer coded “K-10” as foreign buyers. A source told the FT that “K-10” is the designation Russia’s state arms agency uses for Iran.
On Nov. 5, Vladimir Putin received Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, at the Kremlin. The two discussed a gas pipeline from Russia to Iran. Although Iran holds the world’s second-largest natural gas reserves, it is turning to Russia for supplies as war damage and underinvestment threaten to deepen its energy crisis. Iran International reported that Rezaei had been sent to Moscow to seek S-400 air defenses.
Iran also faces accusations of directing the Houthis in Yemen. The Houthis seized Yemen’s western Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb area in September, and Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of encouraging the escalation.
On Nov. 3, Yemeni Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Haidan said 21 foreign experts, 14 from the IRGC and seven from Hezbollah, were helping the Houthis plan and direct military operations from Hodeidah, Sanaa, Saada, Hajjah, Amran and Khokha.
He said their specialties included ballistic missiles, drones, electronic warfare, selecting commercial ships as targets, explosive-laden boats, autonomous submarines and mine-laying. Their work, he said, threatens shipping in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea. Al Jazeera’s report does not describe evidence supporting the claims.
Hezbollah’s Media Relations Office denied the accusations on Nov. 4. The following day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei “strongly rejected claims about the presence of Iranian military advisers in Yemen.” He was also responding to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who had accused Tehran of interfering there.
On Nov. 4, Iran marked 13 Aban, the anniversary of the 1979 U.S. embassy takeover, with rallies at more than 900 locations, including a march in Tehran from Palestine Square toward the former U.S. embassy. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said a change in Washington’s political leadership following the U.S. midterm elections would not alter U.S. policy toward Iran. He warned that Iran would respond on a much broader scale to any new U.S. attack
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