US launches limited strikes near Iran’s Qeshm Island

U.S. forces launched limited strikes near Iran’s Qeshm Island late Monday, American officials told U.S. news outlets, even as Washington and Tehran signaled progress in talks to end their eight-month war.

Multiple U.S. officials described the strikes as defensive, CBS News reported. A senior military official told the network they followed an incident in which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired on a U.S. aircraft. The Associated Press cited a U.S. official who said the strikes targeted Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets.

Iranian state media reported several explosions on Qeshm, near the Strait of Hormuz, but did not identify their cause. Witnesses told Iran’s IRNA news agency they saw two planes over the island, according to Al Jazeera. The semi-official Fars news agency also reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Lengeh, Al Jazeera said. There was no immediate public confirmation of the strikes from U.S. or Iranian authorities.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the strikes. Citing U.S. officials, it said some strikes in recent weeks had been kept quiet to avoid signaling a return to a larger military campaign. One official told the Journal that the operations were intended to limit Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait, according to Al Jazeera.

The waterway remains central to both the fighting and efforts to end it. Iran has continued targeting vessels attempting to pass through the strait, The Guardian reported. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations center said an unknown projectile struck another vessel Sunday about nine nautical miles off the coast of Lima, Oman, according to CBS News. The ship’s captain reported that all crew members were safe.

Earlier Monday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed it had captured two U.S. reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm and destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the strait, Al Jazeera reported. The alleged actions were not independently confirmed in the source reports.

The strikes came after three consecutive days of indirect, closed-door negotiations led by Qatar had produced no apparent breakthrough, CBS News reported. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had clearly communicated its demands and that “the ball is in the U.S. court.” He said Iran could implement a plan to reopen the strait within two days if Washington lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports and secured an end to hostilities, according to Al Jazeera.

Vice President JD Vance sounded hopeful Monday. “The president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement,” he told reporters. “We’ve certainly made some progress. We’ll see if we can make some more.”

President Donald Trump wrote on social media that a deal “could happen” and that “Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible.” Asked earlier whether he was considering strikes after Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections, he answered “no.”

Oil prices fell about 7% Monday amid optimism about a deal, CBS News reported. The war’s effect on gasoline prices and the cost of living has become an issue in the midterm campaign, according to The Guardian.