US President Donald Trump confirmed, in a telephone interview with Fox News, that the United States had launched strikes against Iran, following reports of an operation targeting Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
“They built an anti-aircraft facility... and as soon as it was completed, we hit it very well last night,” Trump said, describing the operation as a “limited attack.”
This comes as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian considered that resuming fighting between the United States and the Islamic Republic would not be in anyone’s interest, in light of persistent diplomatic efforts to avoid a new round of escalation in the Middle East.
“No one will benefit from this war,” Pezeshkian said during a government meeting, pointing to working to resolve the conflict “through dialogue.”
He reiterated that the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei, granted the government powers to discuss “issues that he considered taboo,” without providing further details.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced overnight the downing of three drones over Iranian airspace, after reports of an American bombing targeting Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran.
An American official said that the United States carried out strikes on the Iranian island of Qeshm in the Strait of Hormuz. The official, who requested anonymity, stated that the strikes appeared limited and did not constitute a resumption of major combat operations, according to what was reported by Reuters.
The Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed official as saying that the strikes were carried out on a small scale and represented defensive measures against the Iranians' use of surface-to-air missiles to attack American sites.
The official Iranian "IRNA" agency confirmed that five successive explosions were heard on the island, and residents reported seeing two planes flying in its airspace.
The Revolutionary Guard said that it shot down an American MQ-9 drone over the eastern Strait of Hormuz. He also announced what he described as "the capture of two American MQM-170 aircraft," according to what was reported by IRNA.
Reuters reported on Tuesday a new rise in oil prices following reports of the bombing of Qeshm Island, and a statement by a senior Iranian official regarding the difficulty of reaching a permanent ceasefire agreement.
Reuters said that the price of a barrel of oil recorded an increase of more than one dollar in the morning, while Brent crude futures rose by $1.84.
This comes as Iran's chief negotiator, Speaker of the Shura Council, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, stressed today, Tuesday, that it is now up to the United States to "avoid war."
He said in a televised speech: “The countries of the region must know that while the Islamic Republic of Iran stands fully prepared for battle with its finger on the trigger, it has also provided a strong and rational response to the American side.” He added, "The ball is now in America's court to avoid war."
The Iranian newspaper Hamashari, published in Tehran, published on its home page today an illustration of a map showing potential targets for the Iranian armed forces in Britain and European countries.
The newspaper said, "Adopting a strategy to confront a new threat without geographic restrictions has increased the possibility of expanding the battlefield beyond American targets in West Asia, to the extent that support centers, air and naval bases, and logistical infrastructure for American forces in Europe are being presented these days as potential targets for Iranian missiles."
What the newspaper published comes after Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued an order to “modernize the Target Bank,” stressing “putting all the tangible and intangible assets of the United States and Israel within the reach of the Iranian armed forces.”
Reuters quoted an unidentified senior Iranian official as saying that Iran and the United States are far from reaching an agreement yet. The Iranian official told Reuters that the mediators are working hard to bring the views between the American and Iranian sides closer, but he added that opening the Strait of Hormuz is linked to meeting Iranian conditions, according to what the agency reported.
He also stressed that talks on the nuclear file could not begin until after this step, and that Tehran would not accept Washington's "excessive" demands.
In an interview with Fox News on the eve of the midterm elections, US President Donald Trump stated that the United States “may need to target Pickaxe,” a site linked to the Iranian nuclear program. Trump said it was "no big deal" and could be done in "one hour."
Speculation has increased in the past few days about the possibility that the United States will resume major strikes inside Iran after the midterm elections. This comes despite President Trump's statement on Monday that an agreement "may be reached" with Tehran, after Iran revealed the existence of indirect negotiations with Washington and offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on conditions.
Trump wrote on his platform, Truth Social, ahead of the midterm elections scheduled for today: “Oil prices are falling sharply... because people feel that there will be no war with Iran. Iran wants to reach a settlement as soon as possible. It may happen!”
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday that contacts with the United States to end the war that has been ongoing between them for eight months are still continuing, after days of talks between the Iranians and Qatari mediators that led to amended proposals without achieving progress.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in statements reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA): “The consultations through mediators are very intense. We presented our conditions and proposals, and everything depends on Washington’s political rationality.”
US Vice President Jay D. Vance also told reporters on Monday: “The president and I feel somewhat optimistic about the chances of reaching a settlement (with Iran) through negotiation,” adding: “We have already made some progress, and we will see if we can achieve more.”
On the other hand, Iran announced on Monday that it is considering a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the United States accepts its demands, after it had previously proposed a one-week deadline.
An informed official told Reuters, on Monday, that Iranian negotiators left the Doha talks that were taking place with Qatari mediators, which aimed to reach an agreement to end the Iran war. He added that a draft agreement proposal is being circulated, with the possibility of holding a follow-up meeting.
The official explained that the departure of the negotiators on Sunday was not due to difficulties facing the progress of the negotiations. In an interview with the Iranian official news agency (IRNA), Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated on Monday that intensive consultations are still underway through Qatar and Pakistan, and include telephone calls and the exchange of letters.
He stressed that Iran is ready for both options: "diplomacy or confronting any new military action."
Last September, it put forward a seven-day plan, which it conveyed to the United States via Qatar, stipulating that it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz on the sixth day, provided that the United States met Iranian demands.
The most prominent of these demands is an end to the war in the Middle East on all fronts, the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad, the lifting of sanctions imposed on the Iranian oil sector, and an end to the US naval blockade.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war in the Middle East included repeated threats from the United States and Israel to resume bombing, coinciding with important elections in the two countries.
In conjunction with diplomatic efforts on the Doha-Tehran line, an Iranian-Chinese-Russian diplomatic movement was recorded as part of efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis, according to what Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi confirmed, during a previously unannounced visit of the Secretary-General of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Ali Bagheri Kani, to Beijing.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Beijing will send its envoy in charge of Middle East affairs this month to Iran, the Sultanate of Oman and Saudi Arabia, as part of “shuttle diplomatic visits aimed at promoting peace talks and easing tensions.”
The Iranian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Monday that the Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which they discussed regional and international developments.
Earlier the same day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed concern about indications indicating the possibility of planning new military action against Iran.
In a context related to the repercussions of the war on the oil and gas sector, the International Energy Agency today issued the “Global Gas Security Review 2026” report. The report stated that Europe is entering the winter heating season with the lowest levels of liquefied natural gas stocks in more than a decade. The report expected that this decline in the levels of gas reserves in Europe would prolong the scarcity of global markets until 2027.
The report concluded that growing LNG supplies, particularly from North America, and more flexible trade arrangements are helping markets cope with the supply shock in the Strait of Hormuz, although risks to global gas security remain high.
