US strikes Iran's Qeshm island: Wall Street Journal

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The United States attacked Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported, as President Donald Trump signaled progress in negotiations with Tehran to end the eight-month-old conflict, reports WJ/AFP/BSS.

Citing unnamed US officials, the Journal described the strike on Qeshm, the largest island in the Strait of Hormuz, as the latest in a series of limited attacks Washington had secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks.

Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that five explosions were heard in rapid succession on the island, while some residents reported seeing two aircraft flying overhead.

The Pentagon referred questions about the reported strikes to US Central Command, which did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment late Monday.

The Journal said some US officials had described the attacks as defensive, aimed at preventing Iran from freely targeting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route largely blocked since the war began in late February.

Washington had not publicly announced the strikes to avoid signaling any intention to resume major combat operations, the paper reported.

On Monday, ahead of the US midterm elections, Trump said a deal with Tehran "could happen."

Oil prices, which had surged after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, plunged more than seven percent on Monday amid optimism about a possible end to the conflict.