Trump confirms new limited US strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island as talks go on
President Donald Trump said US forces carried out minor strikes on an Iranian air defence system on Friday. Iranian state media reported two explosions on Qeshm Island, while Trump said talks with Tehran are making progress.
- Trump confirmed limited US strikes on an Iranian air defence system on Friday.
- Iranian media reported two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm Island.
- Qatar rejected reports that US-Iran negotiations have failed.
US President Donald Trump said the US military carried out new limited strikes on Iran on Friday, targeting an Iranian air defence system. Iranian state media reported the sound of two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm Island, which lies in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for oil shipments.
Trump described the action as minor. "We do minor strikes," he said. Speaking about the target, he said: "They knocked out — they built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five." He gave no further details about the target.
Iran's state broadcaster IRIB reported an army statement saying air defence forces intercepted and destroyed an American MQ-9 drone over Qeshm Island. US Central Command said the situation on the island was relatively calm and that it had no further comment.
Trump told reporters on Friday that his administration was talking to representatives from Tehran. "We're dealing with them now. They want to make a deal," he said, and he claimed a lot of progress in the negotiations. On Saturday, Qatar dismissed reports that the talks had failed. Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, said: "Promoting such false claims serves only those seeking to prolong the war and destabilise the region."
Al Jazeera reported that Friday's strikes were the first since Trump's Republican Party lost ground in Tuesday's US midterm elections, which Trump blamed on the Iran war. On Thursday Trump said the US may have to destroy the rest of Iran. The New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed Pentagon officials and military commanders, that thousands of US air and naval personnel were poised to resume major combat operations on Trump's orders. Tehran has stepped up diplomatic efforts.
Iran's army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said, according to IRNA on Saturday, that the armed forces are on higher alert and stronger than at the start of the war, with greater motivation, commitment and self-confidence.
Elsewhere in the region, Colonel Turki Al-Malki, spokesman for the Coalition Forces, said a cruise missile launched by the Houthi militia toward the Riyadh area was intercepted and destroyed. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Houthis police Red Sea transit through a system in which vessels request safe passage by email, usually getting a reply within 24 hours. US Central Command also announced a reward of up to $20 million and possible relocation for information about Iran's nuclear programme.
Background
khabr.pk reported on 4 November that Iran called the US reply to its seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz unconvincing, as Qatar stepped up mediation. On 5 November it reported that Trump acknowledged the Iran war and the fuel prices it caused affected the Republican midterm defeat.
Why it matters
The Strait of Hormuz is a key route for oil shipments, so fighting there bears on fuel costs in Pakistan. khabr.pk's figures show petrol at Rs346 per litre and high-speed diesel at Rs378 per litre on 7 November. Pakistani workers in the Gulf and region are also exposed to the wider conflict, including missile and shipping threats.
