U.S. Hits Qeshm, Officials Say, as Iran Talks Go On
U.S. forces struck an Iranian missile launcher on Qeshm Island after the Revolutionary Guards fired a missile at a U.S. aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials said, as Qatari mediators carried a draft deal to Tehran and oil prices rose again.
A U.S. jet destroyed a Revolutionary Guards surface-to-air missile launcher on Qeshm Island, the largest island in the Persian Gulf, after a missile was fired from the island at a U.S. aircraft over the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. officials said. They called it a limited, defensive strike, not a resumption of major combat. Iranian state media reported several explosions on the island. Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said it is up to Washington to prevent renewed war. Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran to discuss a draft agreement with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Vice President JD Vance said the United States has "certainly made some progress." The head of the International Maritime Organization says the strait is still unsafe because mines may not have been cleared. An Indian sailor was killed when a cargo vessel was struck off Oman. Brent crude rose to about $106 a barrel after falling 7.6% the day before.
A U.S. official said the Revolutionary Guards launched a missile from Qeshm toward an American aircraft over the strait, and the U.S. responded in self-defense, destroying the launcher. Officials described the strike as defensive and limited. The Wall Street Journal reported it was part of a series of limited U.S. strikes on Iran in recent weeks. U.S. Central Command has not commented. The Revolutionary Guards said they downed a U.S. MQ-9 drone east of the strait.
Ghalibaf told parliament that Iran is at its highest level of defensive readiness. "The ball is in America's court to prevent war," he said.
Qatari mediators flew to Tehran to discuss a version of a draft U.S.-Iran deal with Araghchi. Iran's negotiators had left Doha with the draft still circulating. Vance said before the strike: "The President and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We've certainly made some progress. We'll see if we can make some more."
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said the Hormuz shipping lanes remain unsafe because there is no confirmation that mines have been cleared, and the agency does not recommend transit.
India's government said one of 14 Indian crew members was killed when the cargo vessel MSV Al Jusufi was struck by an unidentified aerial object near Limah, Oman. The other 13 were rescued by Oman's coast guard. The sailor was named as Gandhar Nahim Ajij of Gujarat.
Brent crude rose about $1.40, or 1.3%, to around $106 a barrel in European trading, after briefly reaching $106.61 earlier. It settled at $104.77 the day before after a 7.6% fall. U.S. crude traded near $98.