U.S. Strikes Iran's Qeshm Island, Officials Say

The United States carried out limited strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal and CNN. The reports, published Monday night, described the action as defensive.

One official told CNN the strike came in response to Iran firing at a U.S. aircraft. Another official described it as a defensive measure against Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against U.S. assets. Other officials told the Journal the strikes were meant to keep Iran from attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The attack was the latest in a series of limited strikes Washington has carried out against Iran in recent weeks, the Journal reported. Unlike earlier rounds of the war, those strikes were not publicly announced. Officials told the Journal the campaign was kept quiet on purpose, so it would not signal a return to major combat operations.

Explosions were reported on Qeshm Island on Monday, according to Iranian state media outlet IRNA, as reported by Reuters. No casualty or damage figures were reported in the initial accounts. The Defense Department referred questions to U.S. Central Command, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Why Qeshm matters

Qeshm Island sits at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, about 14 miles from the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The strait carries about a fifth of the world's crude oil and natural gas supplies. Before the war, about 20 million barrels of oil passed through it every day.

The island is home to a large underground missile site, a naval base and a major desalination plant, the Journal reported. The United States has targeted Qeshm before in the war, and officials have discussed seizing it.

Trump plays down a return to war

The reports landed on the eve of Tuesday's midterm elections, and on the same day Trump talked down the prospect of renewed fighting. He told reporters Monday that a deal with Tehran could happen.

“We had a war with Iran. We won,” Trump said Monday. Asked if he was considering strikes after the midterms, he answered “no,” though officials told the Journal he was still weighing his options.

Vice President JD Vance struck a similar note Monday, telling reporters the United States and Iran had made some progress toward an off-ramp to the war. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, told reporters in Tehran on Monday that “the ball is in the U.S. court” on a prospective deal.

Tehran said Monday that contacts with Washington to end the war were continuing, after days of talks with Qatari mediators ended with altered proposals but no breakthrough.

Oil prices move

Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Tuesday after the report, Reuters reported. Brent crude futures rose 48 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $105.25 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 47 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $96.93 a barrel.

Brent had settled $8.66, or 7.63 percent, lower on Monday, at $104.77 a barrel, as traders priced in hopes of a diplomatic path. The strike report cut against that optimism.

The United States and Iran have been at war since February 28. The conflict has sharply reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and sent fuel prices higher.