The United States launched a strike on Iran’s Qeshm Island late on Monday as talks continued with Tehran on a draft set of proposals aimed at averting a new round of conflict, according to diplomatic sources.
President Donald Trump told Fox News on Tuesday morning that the United States had struck air defense equipment on Qeshm, located around a mile off the southern Iranian coast in the Strait of Hormuz, describing the operation as a “limited attack.”
His remarks followed reports in the U.S. media that strikes had targeted the island overnight Monday.
The strikes do not amount to a resumption of major combat operations, a U.S. official told The Wall Street Journal, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported five successive explosions on Qeshm but provided no further details.
The attack came after Trump played down the prospect of a return to war with Iran following the U.S. midterm elections.
“We had a war with Iran. We won,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “I don’t even know if you call it a war because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months, you know?” he added. “We control the Strait of Hormuz. We control it and strongly control it.”
In recent weeks, Trump had suggested that the United States could resume strikes against Iran after the midterm elections.
Mediation Efforts Continue
Qatar said Tuesday that Washington and Tehran remained committed to mediation efforts and were reviewing a draft set of proposals intended to narrow their differences.
Qatar, which has played a prominent role in the mediation, said there had been developments in its discussions with both sides. A source familiar with the talks said mediators expected to receive responses from Washington and Tehran within 36 hours.
But a senior Iranian official told Reuters that the two countries remained far apart on an agreement to end the war, adding that Tehran would not accept what he described as Washington’s “excessive demands.”
On Monday, Tehran said it was engaged in intensive indirect talks with the United States order to head off another round of escalation. The country’s foreign ministry said it is ready to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days, rather than the seven days stipulated in its initial plan, if its conditions are met. Those demands include lifting sanctions and releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets, the New York Times reported.
Regional talks are also underway. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Tehran is continuing its dialogue with Saudi Arabia. “Our goal is to reach new regional security arrangements carried out by the countries of the region themselves, away from any foreign military presence,” he posted on X.
Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met with Iranian officials in Tehran last week, marking the first high-level contact between Iran and the three countries since August.
Riyadh said the visit was intended to open channels for negotiations to “prevent a return to military escalation,” particularly amid intensified fighting in recent weeks between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
