U.S. strikes Iranian island in Strait of Hormuz hours before U.S. midterm polls open

The U.S. war in Iran and the rising fuel prices it triggered are top of mind for many American voters. Donald Trump vowed he would not launch fresh attacks during the midterms, but just hours before polls opened, the U.S. resumed strikes on Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz. Boy, boy, boy boy, boy, boy, boy, boy, boy. The U.S. says they are defensive strikes and appear to be limited as opposed to full hostilities. Anna Cunningham joins me now with the latest on this. And we know, Anna, there has been a lot of talk about a resumption of strikes after the midterms, but the U.S. not waiting for that. Yeah, these strikes started about midnight local time last night and I think the timing, given it was on the eve of the US midterms, may well be viewed as a real high stakes move. Let's just bring up a map so you can see where exactly this happened. It's called Qeshm. Island, it's just off the coast of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. And if you remember, it was back in March that Tehran officially closed this waterway after those joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. There's about a fifth of the world's oil that usually moves through it. We know Qatari negotiators are continuing to host indirect talks. On peace, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, saying they've now submitted a new plan to reopen the waterway in two days if the U.S. meets its demands. Look, Tehran might see these fresh U.S. military strikes as a provocation, but certainly the U.S. vice president appears to be remaining optimistic. Take a listen. Look, the president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We're going to keep on working at it. You never know. Of course, the Iranians are always a little unpredictable. And as the president always says, he retains kinetic options. He retains non-kinetic options. But we've certainly made some progress. It's worth noting that the Strait of Hormuz was operational before those joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran earlier this year. And just one example of How dangerous it is now today. There are reports that three oil tankers are on fire in the Strait of Hormuz after they were hit by mines in those waters today. And the timing of this is really interesting because American voters are now heading to the polls today. So what impact could this have on today's elections? Well, I think there is no doubt that President Donald Trump faces pressure from within his own party and voters to end the war. Let's just take a listen to what the U.S. president said last night in Washington. Because we're winning with Iran, easily winning. Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, lying all over the runways of Iran in little pieces. The anti-aircraft, their missile capacity is way down and their missile building capacity is way down. And they have no money and they have, the only thing they have is the highest inflation in the last 15 years for any country, over 300% inflation. And they want to make a deal and that could happen. Look, President Trump talking there about the impact on the Iranian economy, but for US voters, their focus is the direct impact that this has had on their own economy. Let's just listen to what some voters say. I don't like the war. That happening in the Middle East, I don't like the gas price. I'm just somebody to be truthful, and they said the war was only going to last a month, and here we are. Gas prices are high. Everybody's pointing the finger at everybody else. Nobody's taking accountability, so somewhere at the top chain, it's something's awry. Look, whatever the results of the US midterms, the timing of this, some people may view as bold, striking Iran now. But it certainly has put the ballot box and the battlefield front and centre once again.