US strikes Iranian island

The United States launched limited strikes on an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, US media reported, as Iranian media reported five explosions in quick succession.

The reported strikes came as US voters prepared to cast their ballots in midterm elections that threaten President Donald Trump's grip on power.

The strikes, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, hit Qeshm Island, strategically located in the Hormuz waterway, a key flashpoint of the Middle East war that has upended global markets.

Unnamed US officials cited by the Journal, CNN, The New York Times and several other outlets, described the attacks as defensive in nature. The Journal said it was just the latest of several undeclared strikes.

It also said they had not been publicly announced to avoid the impression Washington intended to resume major combat operations. US Central Command did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

The US and Israel launched their war with Iran with a massive wave of strikes in late February. The conflict has been stalemated for months.

Asked if Israel was involved in the latest reported strikes, an Israeli military spokespeson told AFP, "No".

Israel also held an election last week that saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party come out on top, but still short of a majority.

The reported attack came just hours after Trump signaled a deal with Iran "could happen", as American voters prepared to cast their ballots in midterms dominated by public dissatisfaction with the war and the inflation it has brought.

"Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Iranian state news agency IRNA reported five explosions in rapid succession on Qeshm island, and that some residents reported seeing two aircraft flying in its skies.

It did not say what was behind the explosions.

Ball in US court

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, said indirect negotiations were taking place with the US.

"Given the sensitivity and gravity of the current situation, consultations and deliberations are very intensive," Araghchi told state media.

On Tuesday, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has been Tehran's chief negotiator in talks with the US, said that while Iran was ready for war it had given Washington a "rational response".

"The ball is now in America's court to prevent war."

Oil prices had plunged by more than seven percent on Monday on optimism over a possible end to the eight-month-old conflict.

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Reopen the strait

US Vice President JD Vance said both he and Trump were optimistic about securing an agreement.

"We've certainly made some progress. We'll see if we can make some more," Vance told reporters on Monday.

China also called for a return to diplomacy, while Iran's security chief discussed the conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Last week, the Axios news outlet reported that Vance had sent a letter to Iranian national security chief Mohsen Rezaei about possible new talks, marking the highest-level move in months.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said the messages received from Washington were "an acknowledgement of our victory."

A senior Iranian official said that Tehran was ready to reopen Hormuz, a key route for global oil and gas supplies, within two days but only if Washington agreed to its long-standing list of demands.

In September, Iran proposed a seven-day plan to reopen the strait, with demands including ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets, lifting oil sanctions and ending its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

"The possibility of implementing this plan in two days is another indication of Iran's good-faith approach," Tehran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters at a briefing.

'No compromises'

China held meetings with Iranian and Saudi officials in Beijing on Monday.

Beijing supports Tehran in "safeguarding its own sovereignty and security," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Ali Bagheri, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, according to a Chinese statement.

In an interview with Al Jazeera released on Sunday, Foreign Minister Araghchi said Washington must accept a new route agreed between Iran and Oman for transiting the strait.

He said Washington must also remove sanctions imposed recently and reduce US troop numbers in the region.

Trump has kept up his threats against Tehran, saying on Sunday that the United States may have to give Iran "the hammer" at some unspecified time.

On Saturday, the US leader said he still had to "take care" of one or two targets including so-called Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran, a suspected nuclear site which Tehran denies is such a facility.

Iranian officials have repeatedly warned of wide-ranging retaliation if the US resumes the war.

Authorities in Tehran installed a huge banner in the heart of the capital, AFP journalists said on Tuesday.

Over a photo of the US president, it reads: "We will kill Trump".