The United States has bombed Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, the latest in a string of secret strikes that Washington had kept quiet for weeks.
US officials said the attack on Monday was a “defensive measure” after Iranian forces fired a surface-to-air missile at an American aircraft over the strait. Radar stations and missile launchers on the island, the biggest in the Persian Gulf, were hit.
Iranian state media reported several explosions, and the Revolutionary Guard claimed it had shot down two US drones south of the island.
Eight months of war
The US-Iran conflict began in late February and has choked traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which used to carry a fifth of the world’s oil and gas. Brent crude climbed to $105 a barrel on Tuesday after news of the strike broke.
President Donald Trump confirmed the attack in a phone interview with Fox News, boasting that America had “bombed out” Iran’s nuclear capability and could do it again “in one hour”. Yet he also insisted Tehran wants a deal “very badly” and said there was “a very good chance” one would be reached.
Tehran hits back
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said his country reserved the right to self-defence, and an Iranian official warned the two sides remain far apart, with Tehran demanding the US lift its naval blockade first.
Qatar, backed by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, is leading efforts to get both sides back to the table. Israel, which launched the war alongside the US earlier this year, said it played no part in the island strike.
Vice President JD Vance said there was no deadline for a deal but that talks were making “good progress”.
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