Iran says US reply to Hormuz plan ‘unconvincing’; Trump confirms strikes
Indirect talks continue as Trump says US military struck an Iranian anti-aircraft facility on Tuesday.
Key points
- Iran rejected the US response to its seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz as unconvincing.
- Trump confirmed US strikes on an Iranian island near the strait, calling the operation minor and not war.
- Qatar is mediating indirect talks while another tanker was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran said on Tuesday that the US reply to its seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz was "unconvincing", while US President Donald Trump confirmed that the US had launched strikes on an Iranian island near the waterway.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, wrote on X that Washington must fully address and act on Iran's seven conditions, which include lifting sanctions and ending a US naval blockade. He said the strait would be reopened only in that case.
Qatar mediates indirect talks
Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Majed al-Ansari, said both sides "remain committed to the negotiation process" and that Qatar was facilitating a real-time exchange of proposals between the US and Iran.
The indirect talks focus on an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz over two days if the US meets Tehran's conditions.
America’s response to Iran’s rights and demands was not convincing, and they must fully and explicitly address Iran’s seven conditions and act upon them
— Mohsen Rezaei
Strikes and shipping attacks
Trump told Fox News that the US struck an anti-aircraft facility on Qeshm Island early on Tuesday, describing it as a "minor attack" that "wasn't war". US officials said the strikes were defensive and followed Iranian fire at an American aircraft.
US media, citing officials, reported that Central Command had prepared plans for strikes that could begin as early as Wednesday, after the midterm elections.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations reported that two projectiles hit a tanker's engine room about 14 nautical miles northeast of Limah in Oman on Tuesday, with no casualties. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gave a separate account of tankers hitting mines and said it seized two other vessels; that account could not be independently verified.
