US strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island as Trump says deal is coming together

Tankers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Qeshm Island, Iran. (Photo: AP)

The United States has carried out fresh strikes in Iran’s Qeshm Island, US officials told The Wall Street Journal, even as President Donald Trump said talks with Tehran are making progress. The attack is the latest in a series of limited strikes that Washington has carried out in secret in recent weeks, according to the newspaper.

Some officials said the strikes were defensive and meant to stop Iran from attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump told reporters that “we haven’t been doing any fighting for months”, the Journal says.

The strike came as Trump said a deal is taking shape and as Iran said its plan to reopen the strait could now start within two days. No agreement has been announced, and the eight-month war is not over. Voters in the US go to the polls today in the midterm elections.