US carries out 'defensive' strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island; Indian seafarer killed in attack off Oman

The United States carried out limited strikes on Iranian targets around the Strait of Hormuz on the eve of the US midterm elections, US officials told several American news organisations. The officials said the strikes hit Iran's Qeshm Island after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired on an American aircraft.

CBS News said three US officials confirmed what they called 'limited defensive strikes', and the Associated Press quoted an official as saying the targets were Iranian systems firing surface-to-air missiles at US assets. Officials said the action did not mean a return to major combat, and unlike earlier rounds of the war it was not announced publicly. Iranian state media reported explosions on Qeshm, on Hengam island and near Bandar Abbas. No casualty figures were reported.

Tehran warns, talks continue

Iran's deputy foreign minister said Tehran keeps the right to defend itself, and the IRGC said it had shot down a US MQ-9 drone east of the strait. Iran's top negotiator, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said Tehran had given a 'firm and rational response' to the latest proposals and that its forces were on the highest alert. A senior Iranian official told Reuters the two sides were still far from a deal.

Iran says it could reopen the strait within two days if Washington lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports and meets its other conditions. Qatar, which is mediating, said it still hoped for an interim agreement, and Reuters reported that mediators expected both sides to respond to a new proposal within about 36 hours.

President Donald Trump has gone back and forth between threats and talk of a settlement. He said a deal 'could happen' but also told Fox News that several Iranian sites, including the suspected nuclear facility at Pickaxe Mountain near Natanz, still had to be dealt with. Regional officials told AP that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed for new strikes after the US vote.

Indian crew member killed

Separately, an Indian-flagged vessel, the MSV Al Jusufi, was hit by what India's shipping ministry called an unidentified aerial object near the coast of Oman on Monday evening. One of its 14 Indian crew members, a man from Gujarat, died of his injuries. Oman's coast guard rescued the other 13.

Shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal confirmed the death. The Ministry of External Affairs condemned the attack and said the Indian embassy in Muscat was working with Omani authorities to bring home the survivors and the seafarer's body. India also called for de-escalation and for safe navigation in the region's waters. It was not clear who was behind the attack.

India supplies a large share of the world's merchant sailors, and several Indian seafarers have been killed in attacks on shipping since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on February 28. The fighting has also pushed up the oil prices that drive India's import bill: Brent crude was trading at about $105-106 a barrel on Tuesday.