Why US targeted Iran’s Qeshm Island, and why the strategic outpost matters

4 min readUpdated: Jul 30, 2026 01:49 PM IST A plume of smoke rises after reported strikes, from Qeshm, Iran, July 30, 2026, in these screengrabs obtained from a social media video. (REUTERS/image enhanced using AI) The US military carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island early Thursday as part of a two-hour operation targeting dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) facilities, after Tehran fired ballistic missiles at US forces in Jordan. Iranian state media said three people were killed in the strikes on the island. While Washington said the strikes were aimed at reducing threats to American troops and commercial shipping, the choice of Qeshm Island underscores its strategic importance in the escalating conflict. Why did the US attack Qeshm Island? According to US Central Co