US Strikes Iran's Qeshm Island as Tehran Keeps Diplomatic Door Open

US forces have carried out airstrikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in what officials described as a defensive measure, coming just after Tuesday's US midterm elections. It marked the first American strike on the island since June, as the two sides continue negotiating while maintaining parallel military postures.

Analysts describe Qeshm as the main springboard for Iran's "asymmetric" naval power. Iran's IRNA news agency reported that multiple explosions rang out across the island overnight on Monday, with witnesses saying they saw two aircraft fly over the island, which lies off Iran's southern coast near a strategic shipping route.

Citing an unnamed official, The Wall Street Journal described Monday night's strike as limited in scale and not a restart of a major campaign. AP, also citing an unnamed US official, said Washington carried out "defensive strikes" against "Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against American assets." The development followed an IRNA report that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had shot down a US MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier, on 7 March — a week after the fighting began — the US struck a key desalination plant on Qeshm, cutting off fresh water supplies to 30 villages in the area. Tehran called the move a "blatant crime" against civilians.

Diplomacy continues, but remains fragile

Qatar-led mediation efforts are continuing in a bid to prevent a return to full-scale war — a conflict that erupted on 28 February when the US and Israel struck targets across Iran, leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, surging oil and gas prices and heavy damage to military, civilian and energy facilities around the Gulf.

In recent days, Qatari mediators have held indirect talks with Iranian officials, relaying messages between the two sides. But the exchanges appeared to wrap up on Monday without word of a breakthrough. An official with knowledge of the talks told Reuters that the Iranian delegation had left Doha on Sunday, though a draft proposal was still circulating.

On Monday night, Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran to discuss with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi a version of a US-Iran draft agreement negotiated over the past eight days. "Indirect consultations are very intense. We have presented our conditions and proposals, and everything depends on Washington's political reason," Araghchi told IRNA.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said at a Monday briefing that "the ball" was now in Washington's court, with Iran's demands "clear and reasonable." He said the plan Iran submitted in September to end the war remains the focus of talks but could be shortened and implemented within "two days," including reopening the Strait of Hormuz and returning to discussions on Iran's nuclear program.

The same day, according to local media, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had given the government "certain authority" in negotiations with the US, while insisting Tehran would seek to resolve the conflict through dialogue. The approval is seen as a shift from when the June memorandum collapsed, when the supreme leader said the US could not be trusted.

On the US side, Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Monday he was optimistic about a diplomatic solution — just hours before the Qeshm strike. "The president and I both feel fairly optimistic about the prospect of reaching a negotiated deal. We've made some progress and we'll see if we can make more," Vance said.

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reiterated on Tuesday that Iran's response to any US "miscalculation," such as airstrikes, would be unpredictable. "The enemy seeks to force the Iranian nation into submission through threats and military action, but they are badly mistaken; Iran will not submit," he said.

What Trump said about diplomacy

Oil prices fell more than 7% on Monday. Reacting to the developments, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that many believed war with Iran would not continue while mediation efforts were under way. "Iran wants a deal, and wants it soon. It could happen!" he wrote.

In Washington, Trump told reporters that efforts appeared to be "coming together very nicely," which he said explained the drop in oil prices. But earlier in an interview with Axios, he said he was "in no hurry" to decide whether to strike Iran again: "We'll do something either way, but there's no rush. We've weakened them financially. They have no money, no gasoline, and their people are very tired."

What comes next

The US midterm elections are seen as a hinge for Trump's decision on the way forward. The US president has repeatedly suggested he could strike Iran after the vote, telling RSBN on Sunday that the conflict would end "very soon, one way or another," with Tehran either "making a deal, or we'll finish things."

Observers say the US would likely strike Iran's nuclear facilities again if fighting resumes, potentially targeting Pickaxe Mountain — a hardened site comprising two tunnel complexes deep underground. Last month, Trump told Newsmax that the US "may have to go there" and "will take a shot, knock it out fast."