Tehran: The United States attacked Iran’s strategic Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.
The attacks, carried out on Monday (local time), were the latest in “a series of limited strikes Washington has secretly carried out against the country in recent weeks as President Trump touted the possibility of a diplomatic deal,” the report said.
The United States has been conducting smaller-scale strikes against Iran for several weeks, with explosions reported on social media around Qeshm Island on Monday, according to the report.
Some US officials described the attacks as defensive operations aimed at preventing Iran from freely attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, reports Xinhua news agency.
Unlike earlier in the conflict, the United States has not publicly announced the attacks, the report said. Washington has deliberately kept the campaign under wraps to avoid signalling any intention of resuming major combat operations, one US official was quoted as saying.
Trump said that he was “in no rush” to decide whether to resume military action against Iran. “One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline, and their people are getting very tired of it,” he said in a phone interview with Axios on Monday.
The US midterm elections are seen as a turning point for Trump as he decides whether to launch a major bombing campaign against Iran to try to bring the conflict to an end, Axios reported.
It added that the president appears to be pursuing two tracks simultaneously, allowing diplomatic efforts to continue while preparing to resume military action if he determines that a deal is out of reach.
“Oil Prices are dropping like a rock, down almost 10 US dollars a barrel, a record, because people feel that there will not be a war with Iran. Iran wants a settlement as soon as possible. It could happen,” Trump wrote Monday in a post on Truth Social.
Iranian officials have warned that any new attack would trigger an unrestrained response. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, however, said Tehran remained willing to continue negotiations, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.
(IANS)
