US strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island amid Qatar-mediated talks

U.S. officials told the Wall Street Journal that Washington kept the Qeshm strikes quiet to avoid signaling a return to major combat, and President Donald Trump publicly denied that fighting was continuing or that attacks on Iran were planned after the midterm elections. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran would keep its right to self-defense until the U.S. attacks stop completely and permanently. The Israeli military denied involvement in the reported strikes.

The IRGC said its aerospace force brought down two U.S. MQM-170 reconnaissance drones over Qeshm and that three oil tankers struck mines after entering restricted waters in the Strait of Hormuz. It also reported an Indian sailor killed in a separate attack on the Indian-flagged cargo vessel MSV Al Jusufi near Oman. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran is continuing talks with Saudi Arabia and seeks regional security arrangements without foreign forces, while Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran to discuss a revised proposal, with both sides expected to respond within 36 hours. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the response now rested with Washington.