U.S. reportedly strikes Iran's Qeshm Island as Vance hopes for ‘negotiated settlement’ with Tehran

The U.S. reportedly carried out strikes against Iran on Monday even as Vice President JD Vance expressed hopes of reaching a "negotiated settlement" with Tehran.

America attacked Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal, which added that Washington has been carrying out "limited strikes" against the country in recent weeks. The military campaign against Iran has been kept quiet on purpose so as not to signal any intention of major combat escalation, the report said, quoting an unnamed official.

Qeshm Island, off Iran's southern coast, is the largest island in the Persian Gulf. Located near the Strait of Hormuz, it has emerged as a potential U.S. target amid reports that anti-ship missiles, mines, drones and attack craft are being kept there in underground tunnels.

President Donald Trump's administration has been talking down risks of an all-out war with Iran, with Vance being the latest to claim "good progress" in talks with Iran.

"The president and I both feel really good about the prospect of potentially coming to a negotiated settlement," Vance told CNN on Monday.

He added, though, that Iranians are "unpredictable" and Trump retains "kinetic and non-kinetic" options against Tehran. Vance said that Washington has not set any deadline for reaching a peace deal with Iran.

Trump said earlier Monday that the U.S. had to go to war with Iran to stop the country from having "a nuclear weapon," that "we're not going to allow Iran ever to have a nuclear weapon. And they understand that."