US President Donald Trump has confirmed US military strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island, claiming that Washington has made “a lot of progress” in talks with Iran.
Trump said on Friday that US forces had carried out what he described as minor strikes against Iranian air defence systems.
“We do minor strikes,” Trump told reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida. “They knocked out – they built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device, and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five.”
Trump spoke shortly after Iranian state media reported two missile strikes in the Suza area of Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for oil shipments.
State broadcaster IRIB also reported an Iranian army statement, saying that the country’s air defence forces intercepted and destroyed an American MQ-9 drone over Qeshm Island.
In response to reports of explosions heard on Iran’s Qeshm Island, US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US military operations in the Middle East, said the situation is “relatively calm”.
A CENTCOM official told Al Jazeera that they are aware of the reports, adding they have no further comment.
CENTCOM announced in a post on X late on Friday that the US “is offering a reward of up to $20 million and possible relocation for information about Iran’s nuclear program, including its facilities, equipment, and associated personnel, such as those in the scientific community, or the movement of any of the above”.
On Monday, Iranian media reported several explosions on Qeshm Island, as American media outlets reported that the US military carried out what officials called “defensive strikes” in the Strait of Hormuz.
Ongoing talks
Trump told reporters several times on Friday that his administration was talking to representatives from Tehran.
“We’re dealing with them now. They want to make a deal,” the US president said.
“We’ve made a lot of progress with Iran,” he added, without providing details.
On Saturday, Qatar dismissed reports claiming negotiations between the US and Iran have failed, warning that such claims benefit “only those seeking to prolong the war”.
“Promoting such false claims serves only those seeking to prolong the war and destabilise the region,” said Majed al-Ansari, spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a post on X.
Friday’s strikes are the first since Trump’s Republican Party was dealt a blow in Tuesday’s midterm elections in the US. Trump blamed the election results on the Iran war.
Since Tuesday’s midterm elections, Trump has shifted between threatening Iran and suggesting that a resolution to the war is near. On Thursday, Trump said the US may have to “destroy” the rest of Iran, adding that people will “know soon enough” if he acts.
Unnamed Pentagon officials and military commanders told The New York Times on Wednesday that thousands of US air and naval forces on more than a dozen ships and at bases around the Middle East and in the US are poised to resume major combat operations against Iran on Trump’s orders.
Tehran has stepped up diplomatic efforts amid suggestions from Trump that the US could resume full-scale strikes on Iran.
