Washington strikes Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz: US official

The US launched strikes on Iranian targets, a US official said, in what appeared to be a limited operation on the eve of crucial US midterm elections.

Iranian state media reported explosions being heard on the islands of Qeshm and Hengam in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and in the nearby mainland area of Bandar Abbas. Unlike earlier in the war, the strikes were not publicly announced.

US President Donald Trump previously said that Washington would not launch strikes on Iran before the midterms. The unpopular war and the resulting impact on US gasoline prices and other parts of the economy have been a vulnerability for his Republican Party as it tries to keep control of Congress.

Two women walk past a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with apparent injuries and torn clothing in Tehran on Sunday.

Photo: AP

A US official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, on Monday said that the strikes targeted Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against the US in the strait. The move came as Iran said it had a two-day plan to reopen the critical waterway and resume nuclear talks with the United States.

Back-channel negotiations have also been playing out as Israel and some Middle East allies lobby Trump on the way ahead in the more than eight-month-old war that has rattled the global economy and wreaked havoc on Iran.

Speaking before the US official confirmed strikes, US Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters that he and Trump “both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement.”

The Trump administration was last known to have carried out attacks in early September, but thousands of US troops remain in the waters off Iran to maintain a naval blockade aimed at preventing tankers carrying Iranian oil from reaching the global market. Another aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are also on their way to the Middle East.

The region is on edge about the prospects of the US resuming full-scale operations against Iran, and the new strikes are likely to renew concerns.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed for another wave of strikes on Iran after the US elections, two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter said.

A return to full-scale war with Iran could help Netanyahu form an emergency government after he and his far-right allies lost their parliamentary majority in last week’s elections. Trump has alternated between threatening major strikes and pushing for a deal with Iran.

The two officials said diplomatic efforts have made progress and that mediators are trying to advance a framework for Iran to cease its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz in return for the US lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports.

They said more talks are planned for this week. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified briefings they had received from US and, in one case, Israeli officials. The third person, who was briefed on the call, was not authorized to comment publicly and also spoke on the condition of anonymity.