US officials say forces struck Iran’s Qeshm island

The Wall Street Journal reported that the attack on Monday was the latest in a series of limited US strikes against Iran in recent weeks. Some officials told the newspaper the strikes were defensive and intended to prevent Iran from attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Reuters and ABC News also reported the Qeshm strikes, citing US officials. One official told Reuters they appeared limited and did not constitute a resumption of major combat operations. Another described them as defensive measures against Iranian use of surface-to-air missiles against US assets.

Iranian state news agency IRNA reported several explosions on Qeshm earlier on Monday. Trita Parsi, executive vice-president of the Quincy Institute, wrote that Iranian contacts blamed Israel for explosions on Qeshm and elsewhere, while a senior US source told him the American side was not responsible. It is unclear whether he was referring to the same incidents as the reported US strikes.

The reports come as Washington and Tehran have been engaged in indirect negotiations. On Monday, President Donald Trump told reporters that the US had not been “doing any fighting for months”, according to the Journal.

US Central Command did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters and ABC News. The targets, damage and any casualties from the reported strikes remain unclear.