US strikes Iran as mediators seek deal

WASHINGTON

U.S. forces struck Iran’s Qeshm Island on Nov. 2, American officials said, as Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran for talks on a possible agreement.

U.S. officials told Reuters the strikes were limited and defensive, targeting Iranian forces using surface-to-air missiles against American assets.

An official told ABC News the operation followed an Iranian attack on a U.S. aircraft.

Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported several explosions on Qeshm, in the Strait of Hormuz, with some residents saying they saw two aircraft overhead.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the operation was part of a series of limited strikes in recent weeks aimed at restricting Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.

Officials told the newspaper that Washington had kept the campaign unannounced to avoid signaling a return to major combat operations.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had seized two U.S. reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm and shot down an MQ-9 drone east of the strait.

A U.S. official told ABC News that Iran’s claim to have brought down two reconnaissance drones was false.

The Iranian claims could not be independently verified.

The strikes came on the eve of the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections, with President Donald Trump’s Republicans seeking to retain control of Congress.

Speaking to Fox News late on Nov. 2, Trump said Washington could target Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected underground nuclear complex,

if no agreement was reached. He said an operation could be carried out in an hour, while expressing a preference for a deal that would save lives.

Earlier that day, Trump wrote on Truth Social that an agreement with Iran “could happen.”

Qatari mediators traveled to Tehran on Nov. 2 night for discussions with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on a draft agreement, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Tehran was considering a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if Washington met its conditions, shortening an earlier proposed one-week timetable.

Iran’s demands include lifting the U.S. naval blockade of its ports and ending hostilities. Baqaei said exchanges through mediators were continuing.