The US carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm ​Island in the Strait of Hormuz, a US ‌official said on Monday.

The strikes, earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal, appeared to be limited and were not ​a resumption of major combat operations, the official ​said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Another ⁠official said the strikes were defensive measures against ​Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets.

The Pentagon referred ​a request for comment to the US Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East. CENTCOM did not ​respond to requests for comment.

Earlier on Monday, Iranian ​state media outlet IRNA reported that there were several explosions on Qeshm ‌Island.

The ⁠Journal reported that the attack was the latest in a series of strikes carried out by Washington in recent weeks.

Fox News, citing officials, said the ​strikes were defensive ​and carried ⁠out in response to Iran firing at a US aircraft.

In recent weeks, President Donald ​Trump hinted at renewing attacks on Iran ​after ⁠the US midterm elections on Tuesday. But after a speech at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on ⁠Monday, he ​indicated he might be thinking ​otherwise.

President Donald Trump’s White House has spent months preparing for a possible Democratic takeover of Congress, developing plans to keep advancing major parts of his agenda through executive power while bracing for ​investigations of his administration, Reuters reported citing a White House official and two people familiar with the plans.

Senior officials, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and budget director Russell Vought, have been working with the ‌White House Counsel’s Office since April to identify executive actions on immigration, tariffs, housing costs and federal spending that Trump could pursue without congressional approval, said the three people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

White House counsel Will Scharf and his team also are looking at “what Trump can legally do on his own, where he could push the limits of his authority and how to defend those decisions in court,” the White House official said.

The planning underscores a paradox of Tuesday’s midterm elections: Capturing control of Congress would give Democrats the power to investigate Trump, block legislation and ​constrain his spending priorities. But Trump would retain broad executive authority over trade, foreign policy and the federal bureaucracy that he has already used aggressively during his second term.

If Republicans lose control of Congress, Trump said he expects he ​could issue vetoes for “a month or two” before reaching compromises with Democrats.

“I guess I’ll become Mr. Veto,” Trump told the New York Post’s Pod Force One podcast in an interview excerpt ⁠released on Sunday. “And then at some point, we’ll probably make deals.”

Democrats need a net gain of four seats in the US House of Representatives as well as the US Senate to overturn Republicans’ narrow 218-214 and 53-47 majorities. Opinion polls favor Democrats ​to win the House, while the Senate remains too close to call.

For the past month, Trump has held rallies across the country trying to preserve Republican control of Congress, even as his aides privately prepare for a very different political landscape in 2027.

The ​White House pushed back on the prospect of Republican losses and accused the media of promoting a false narrative.

“This administration and commonsense Republicans will continue to secure our borders, restore law and order, putting more money back into the pockets of hard-working Americans, and deliver wins for the American people,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said.

Among the executive actions under consideration are new tariffs on imports of critical minerals and wind turbines, tighter rules on visas for international students and temporary foreign workers, and measures aimed at lowering housing and construction costs, the White House official said.

Federal agencies ​have submitted proposals and legal reviews of actions the administration could take unilaterally, one of the people with knowledge of the plans said.

Vought, whose US Office of Management and Budget oversees federal spending, is examining which priorities can move forward using money ​already appropriated by Congress, two of the people said.

He also wants to change federal grant rules to give political appointees more say in which government programs receive taxpayer money, they said, potentially giving the White House more influence over federal spending without seeking congressional approval.

Trump has been ‌briefed on the ⁠preparations and has taken part in discussions about them, the White House official said.

When asked how comfortable Trump would be governing through executive authority under a Democratic Congress, one of the people said, “very comfortable.”

GOVERNING WITHOUT CONGRESS

Trump has already tested the reach of presidential power since returning to office in January 2025, using executive authority to impose sweeping tariffs, intensify immigration enforcement, shrink the federal workforce, and pursue foreign-policy goals including the war against Iran without Congress’ approval or new laws.

A major exception was Trump’s massive package of tax and spending cuts that was passed by the Republican-controlled Congress and signed into law by the president in July 2025.

“President Trump in the last two years has basically ignored Congress and tried to do as much as possible through executive orders and ​executive power,” said Nathan Gonzales, editor at Inside Elections, which provides ​nonpartisan political analysis. “I think he will only continue if ⁠there are Democratic majorities.”

Trump has repeatedly invoked national emergencies to expand his ability to act without new legislation. Congress can vote to end those emergencies, but Trump could veto such a move, requiring two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override him.

A Democratic Congress could still create significant obstacles.

Control of the Senate would allow Democrats to block Trump’s judicial and executive-branch nominees, including any Supreme ​Court pick.

“I would anticipate they will be very reluctant to approve any of the president’s appointments,” said Andrew Busch, a public policy professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and ​author of a history of midterm ⁠elections.

Democrats could also refuse to pass Trump-backed legislation. But Trump could veto Democratic legislation he doesn’t like, and Democrats are unlikely to have enough votes in the House to override him.

Courts could block executive actions that exceed Trump’s legal authority. The White House plans to seek legal opinions from the Justice Department to determine what Trump can do without Congress and how to defend those actions if they are challenged in court, one of the people said.

DEMOCRATIC INVESTIGATIONS

One challenge, however, cannot be sidestepped through executive action: congressional investigations.

Reuters previously reported that senior House ⁠Democrats and committee ​aides have discussed using hearings, subpoenas and document requests to examine whether Trump has used his presidential power to benefit himself, allies or donors.

Trump aides ​have been preparing for that prospect for months, all three people said.

White House lawyers have been briefing political appointees and agency leaders on how to handle congressional inquiries, document requests and subpoenas, one person said. They have advised officials to be careful about what they put in writing.

They also sought a Justice Department ​opinion that could allow Trump to invoke executive privilege to shield communications with private advisers from congressional scrutiny, the person said.

Hooded rioters looted stores in Frankfurt late on Saturday after tens of thousands of demonstrators ​took to the streets across Germany’s biggest cities to demand better education and lower living costs.

The protests followed a wave of Gen Z-led ‌demonstrations across Europe this year. In Serbia, student-led activism helped unseat the country’s longtime leader at the ballot box, while protests in France have descended into rioting and looting, Reuters reported.

The German protests organised by the campaign group “Gen Z regelt” — “Gen Z takes charge” in German — took place in 34 cities including Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich. The group says it opposes compulsory military service and wants greater investment in education as many ​young Germans struggle with rising costs.

In Frankfurt, Germany’s financial hub, at least two stores were looted as protests turned violent, with several more damaged and ​police trying to get the situation under control, according to a Reuters witness.

“Violent disturbances are continuing,” Frankfurt police said on X. “In ⁠the city centre, windows have been smashed at several shops. Molotov cocktails are also being thrown at the emergency services. We urge all bystanders to avoid the ​city centre or to leave the area.”

Official numbers on Saturday afternoon suggested turnout was below the 182,000 participants that organisers initially expected. Police in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin ​reported as many as 18,000 protesters, half the roughly 36,000 on the organisers’ website.

German authorities said Saturday’s demonstrations, which coincide with Halloween festivities, had been largely peaceful, but warned of attempts by extremist groups to exploit the movement.

In Hamburg, some barricades had been set on fire.

“We are here today to fight for peace and freedom, rather than for war and coercion,” Gen Z regelt spokesperson Lina ​Friedrich said in Berlin on Saturday.

“What matters most to us is better support for the health and education systems. We are against compulsory military service and we ​are in favour of a fairer distribution of the burden.”

LUXURY SHOPS BOARD UP WINDOWS

Parts of Germany’s far-left extremist scene and some groups linked to foreign extremist movements have joined efforts to ‌mobilise support, ⁠according to the federal interior ministry.

“We all have those images from France in our minds — looting, burning houses, burning police vehicles, and attacks on police officers,” said Roman Poseck, interior minister for the state of Hesse, whose capital is Germany’s financial hub, Frankfurt.

“France must not be held up as a model in this regard.”

Some businesses across German cities boarded up windows and planned early closures ahead of the demonstrations due to concerns over possible unrest, including along Berlin’s luxury Kurfuerstendamm shopping boulevard.

Organisers have focused on what ​they see as the growing pressure on ​younger generations in Europe’s largest economy.

“The ⁠government has offered no response to our concerns other than to continue making cuts and piling further burdens upon us,” said Steve, an 18-year-old due to speak at a rally in Munich, addressing Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

“We will continue to exercise our fundamental ​right to assemble until you stop ignoring us.”

Germany has struggled to revive economic growth. The country also faces growing pressure on pensions ​and public services as ⁠baby boomers retire and the working-age population shrinks.

Questions have been raised about who is driving the campaign and whether it is genuinely youth-led, given the broad mix of political and civil society groups involved.

Germany’s national school student umbrella organisation, BSK, has distanced itself from the initiative and plans to hold a separate day of protest on November 20.

Sean Baker, ⁠a student at ​the Technical University of Berlin, said he would join the protests on Saturday to call attention ​to the poor state of buildings on campus.

“When you go inside and enter the rooms, it looks like an abandoned building,” he told Reuters. “Yet this is where we’re expected to study on a regular basis.”