US reportedly strikes Qeshm as Iran talks continue

The United States struck Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, according to a report citing unnamed US officials, while President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly described diplomatic prospects with Tehran as promising. The reported operation was limited and part of a series of US strikes conducted secretly in recent weeks, the officials told the Wall Street Journal. They said the administration kept the operations quiet to avoid signalling a return to major combat. A US official also said Iranian forces using surface-to-air missiles against US assets were targeted; some officials characterized the strikes as defensive. Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported five explosions on Qeshm on Monday and relayed residents’ reports of aircraft overhead. Those accounts establish that explosions were reported, but do not independently establish their cause. The US military has not publicly confirmed the reported strike. The Pentagon referred questions to US Central Command, which had not responded to requests for comment in reports published Monday. The reports did not specify what was hit or describe verified damage or casualties. Qeshm lies in the Strait of Hormuz, a major...