Trump Confirms New US Strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that American forces carried out new strikes on Qeshm Island, an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway in the Gulf. Al Jazeera Trump said the strikes were minor and hit Iranian air defence systems, the radar and missile installations used to shoot down aircraft.

Speaking in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump said US forces had knocked out an Iranian anti-aircraft device in about 15 minutes.

Iranian state media reported two missile strikes in the Suza area of Qeshm Island. Iran's broadcaster IRIB, citing an army statement, said Iranian air defence forces had intercepted and destroyed a US MQ-9 drone, an unmanned aircraft, over the island.

The Guardian reported that the US military carried out a new round of limited strikes targeting an air defence system. US Central Command, the American military headquarters for the Middle East, said the situation around Qeshm Island was relatively calm. Earlier, a US official had described the strikes on the island as limited and said they were not a resumption of major combat operations. Reuters

On diplomacy, Trump said the United States had made a lot of progress in talks with Iran and that Iran wants to make a deal. Qatar rejected reports that negotiations between Washington and Tehran had failed. Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari said that promoting false claims of failed talks served only those seeking to prolong the war and destabilise the region.

Separately, US Central Command announced a reward of up to $20 million, along with possible relocation, for information about Iran's nuclear program.