US strikes Iranian islands as Trump talks up diplomatic progress

The United States launched limited strikes on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, US media reported, hours after President Donald Trump signalled diplomatic progress with Tehran. The strikes, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, hit Qeshm Island, where Iranian state media reported five explosions in rapid succession. Unnamed US officials cited by the Journal and other outlets described the attacks as defensive in nature, while the paper said it was just the latest of several undeclared strikes.

It said they had not been publicly announced to avoid the impression Washington intended to resume major combat operations. US Central Command did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment. The US, alongside Israel, launched the war with a massive wave of surprise strikes on Iran in late February, but it has not achieved its war aims and the conflict has been stalemated for months. On Monday, a day before voters were predicted to hand his Republican party a drubbing in midterm elections in part over dissatisfaction with the war and the inflation it has brought, Trump said a deal with Iran "could happen".

"Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible," Trump posted on his Truth Social Platform. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, said indirect talks were taking place. "Given the sensitivity and gravity of the current situation, consultations and deliberations are very intensive," Araghchi told state media. On Tuesday, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has been Tehran's chief negotiator in talks with the US, said that while Iran was ready for war it had given Washington a "rational response".

"The ball is now in America's court to prevent war." Oil prices had plunged by more than seven percent on Monday on optimism over a possible end to the eight-month-old conflict. - Reopen the strait - US Vice President JD Vance said both he and Trump were optimistic about securing an agreement. "We've certainly made some progress. We'll see if we can make some more," Vance told reporters on Monday. China also called for a return to diplomacy, while Iran's security chief discussed the conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Last week, the Axios news outlet reported that Vance had sent a letter to Iranian national security chief Mohsen Rezaei about possible new talks, marking the highest-level move in months. Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said the messages received from Washington were "an acknowledgement of our victory." A senior Iranian official said that Tehran was ready to reopen Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas supplies, within two days but only if Washington agreed to its long-standing list of demands.

In September, Iran proposed a seven-day plan to reopen the strait, with demands including ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets, lifting oil sanctions and ending its counter-blockade of Iranian ports. "The possibility of implementing this plan in two days is another indication of Iran's good-faith approach," Tehran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters at a briefing. - 'No compromises' - China held meetings with Iranian and Saudi officials in Beijing on Monday.

Beijing supports Tehran in "safeguarding its own sovereignty and security," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Ali Bagheri, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, according to a Chinese statement. In an interview with Al Jazeera released on Sunday, Foreign Minister Araghchi said Washington must accept a new route agreed between Iran and Oman for transiting the strait. He said Washington must also remove sanctions imposed recently and reduce US troop numbers in the region.

Trump has kept up his threats against Tehran, saying on Sunday that the United States may have to give Iran "the hammer" at some unspecified time. On Saturday, the US leader said he still had to "take care" of one or two targets including so-called Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran, a suspected nuclear site which Tehran denies is such a facility. Iranian officials have repeatedly warned of wide-ranging retaliation if the US resumes the war.

Authorities in Tehran installed a huge banner in the heart of the capital, AFP journalists said on Tuesday. Over a photo of the US president, it reads: "We will kill Trump". bur-dcp/ris