The United States carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz, the BBC reported on 3 November, citing US officials who spoke to CBS. The officials said the strikes were a response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps firing on a US aircraft.
The CBS sources described the action as “limited” and “defensive”. That was the justification given by US officials, rather than an independently confirmed assessment of the circumstances surrounding the attack. At the time covered by the BBC report, the US military had not commented on the strikes.
Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, reported explosions on Qeshm on Monday 2 November. The BBC report did not give casualty figures, a detailed list of targets or an assessment of the damage.
Talks through Qatar and Pakistan
The reports of strikes came alongside indications of continuing diplomatic contacts. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday that “very intensive” talks with the United States were taking place through Qatar and Pakistan, according to the BBC.
On Tuesday 3 November, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said both sides were examining the proposals put forward and remained engaged in negotiations. Those statements indicate that diplomatic channels remain open, but do not mean an agreement has been reached or hostilities have ended.
