WASHINGTON — The United States has conducted defensive strikes on some Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official said Monday, on the eve of crucial midterm elections. Iranian state television reported that explosions were heard on Qeshm Island. The official, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “Iranians using surface to air missiles against U.S. assets” had been targeted. The strikes appeared to be limited as opposed to a return to full hostilities but followed President Donald Trump previously saying the U.S. would not launch new strikes on Iran before Tuesday’s midterms. The unpopular war and the resulting impact on U.S. gasoline prices and other parts of the economy have been a vulnerability for Republicans as they try to keep control of Congress. The region is on edge about the prospects of the U.S. resuming full-scale operations against Iran, and the new strikes, which were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal, are certain to raise fresh concerns. Backchannel negotiations also are playing out as Israel and some Middle East allies lobby Trump on the way ahead in the more than 8-month-old war that’s rattled global markets and wreaked havoc on Iran. The Trump administration was last known to have carried out attacks in early September, but thousands of U.S. troops remain in the waters off Iran to maintain a naval blockade aimed at preventing tankers hauling Iranian oil from getting to the global market. Plus, a third aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are on their way to the Middle East. Before the strikes were confirmed, U.S. Vice President JD Vance offered measured optimism that a deal could still be struck. Vance sent a letter to Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, last week, but the White House has offered scant details. Trump told reporters that letter was focused on assisting Iran with “medical supplies and various things.” “We’ve had a number of good conversations with the Iranians,” Vance told reporters Monday when asked about the letter. “I actually just spoke with the president of the United States about an hour ago about this. Look, the president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We’re going to keep on working at it.” Netanyahu pushed Trump for strikes in a weekend call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed for another wave of strikes on Iran after the U.S. elections, according to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter. A return to full-scale war with Iran could help Netanyahu to form an emergency government after he and his far-right allies lost their parliamentary majority in last week’s elections. Trump has alternated between threatening major strikes and pushing for a deal with Iran. The two officials said diplomatic efforts have made progress, with Qatari mediators holding two rounds of talks last week with Iranian officials. The two officials said the mediators are trying to advance a framework for Iran to cease its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz in return for the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iran’s ports. They said more talks are planned for this week. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified briefings they had received from American, and in one case Israeli, officials. One official said Netanyahu was working with senior officials in the U.S. administration to persuade Trump to launch a quick but extensive air campaign and that the president does not appear to have made a decision. Netanyahu pressed for strikes during a call over the weekend with Trump, who would not commit to taking military action, according to a person who was briefed on it. Other U.S. allies in the Middle East are warning against more strikes, saying that would destabilize the region and could lead Iran-allied Houthi rebels in Yemen to step up their attacks on Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping, a third regional official said. Iran-backed militias in Iraq could also get involved. The Israeli government did not immediately comment. The White House did not directly respond to questions about Netanyahu and Trump’s discussion of potential new strikes during the weekend call. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said he spoke by phone Monday with U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth about “the latest regional and international developments” and the Houthis’ continued attacks on Saudi Arabia. Trump downplays scale of Iran conflict Oil prices dropped sharply Monday as renewed diplomatic efforts in the Iran war appeared to show signs of headway. Trump noted the drop in a speech in Washington on Monday, which was billed as his closing argument to Americans, and sought to minimize the scale of the conflict, which has cost U.S. taxpayers at least $47 billion. “I don’t know if you even call it a war, because we haven’t been doing any fighting for months,” Trump said. Iran says it is prepared for war while pursuing diplomacy Iran wants guarantees that the U.S. will implement its side of any agreement. The U.S. and Israel have twice attacked Iran while it was engaged in negotiations over its disputed nuclear program. Iranian officials say publicly they are prepared for war or diplomacy. The new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, met with Iran’s military chiefs and said the response to “any kind and level of threat” from the U.S. or Israel should be immediate and without “geographic limits,” urging an expansion of the list of potential targets. A recent analysis by The Associated Press found that Iranian strikes on more than two dozen U.S. bases since the start of the war have caused billions of dollars in equipment damage. Rezaei, the Iranian security chief, told state television that “the tone has completely changed” from the U.S. and called it a “very good sign.” He gave no details about the letter from Vance and said he had not responded. Arab allies are caught in the middle October saw the most attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz since March, as Iran has tried to ramp up economic pressure on the U.S. to get it to lift its blockade. The mood was grim at the Manama Dialogue, an annual security summit in Bahrain organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. United Arab Emirates presidential adviser Anwar Gargash told attendees the U.S. and Iranian stances are far apart, and “if these positions are not bridged, then we have to worry about the worst.” Gulf nations have spent billions of dollars to boost their defense capabilities since the war began. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told the gathering in Bahrain that the next escalation “will be more dangerous, more destructive, and it will lead to nowhere.” China will send a special envoy to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia in early to mid-November, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters Monday. ___ Magdy reported from New York, and Anna from Jerusalem. Victoria Eastwood in Cairo, Kanis Leung in Hong Kong and Katie Marie Davies in London contributed to this report. ___ AP STANDARDS: The AP uses anonymous sources only when the information is vital to the news report and not opinion or speculation. The information must be unavailable except under the conditions of anonymity imposed by the source. The source must be reliable, in a position to have accurate information and approved by news managers. Aamer Madhani, Michelle L. Price, Samy Magdy And Cara Anna, The Associated Press
