Strait of Hormuz Update: Ships Attacked, US Hits Qeshm Island as Iran Sets Terms to Reopen Key Waterway

The United States carried out what officials called defensive airstrikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The strikes came as attacks on commercial shipping increase and diplomatic efforts to reopen one of the world's most important energy routes remain stalled.

Two U.S. officials told ABC News that the strikes do not mean a return to major combat operations against Iran. One official said it was the latest in a series of limited strikes by U.S. forces in recent weeks. Some officials told The Wall Street Journal the operation was meant to stop Iran from using the island to threaten ships passing through the strait.

Qeshm is Iran's largest island and sits inside the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.

Attacks on shipping increase

Iran has increased attacks on commercial vessels in the strait in recent weeks. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, which monitors shipping security, reported two attacks on Sunday alone. In the afternoon, a merchant ship in the strait reported that another vessel nearby had been hit by an unknown projectile. That night, a tanker heading southeast through the Persian Gulf was hit by two unknown projectiles about 72 nautical miles east of the Saudi coastal city of Ras al-Khafji.

The incidents follow a series of reported mine strikes. Last week, Iran's navy claimed that another oil tanker caught fire after hitting mines east of the strait, although no maritime authority confirmed that incident. Separately, Oman rescued 25 sailors from a burning ship near the waterway.

The United Nations shipping agency has warned that the danger has not passed. International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said ships still risk striking mines, and that the strait is "not open for business in the way that it was before the conflict started."

Shipping traffic almost at a standstill

Commercial traffic through the strait has nearly stopped. IMF PortWatch data recorded two transits on Oct. 25, compared with a pre-crisis average of 85 a day. At the end of Sunday, 129 vessels were holding position in the strait and nearby Gulf waters.

Iran effectively closed the strait after U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran in late February. The closure has driven up energy prices worldwide, because about 20% of the world's oil normally passes through the waterway.

The war began with joint American-Israeli strikes that killed several top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending the war, but talks have since stalled. The United States says it is enforcing a naval blockade of Iran's Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman ports, while Iran claims control over the strait.

Iran's conditions for reopening

Iran has offered to reopen the strait on conditions that Washington is considered unlikely to accept. They include lifting sanctions and releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.

Baghaei, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said on Monday that Iran could carry out its full plan within two days, restore security in the strait and begin negotiations if its demands were met. "The realization of this depends entirely on Washington's will and decision," he said.

Iranian negotiators left talks with Qatari mediators on Sunday, and a draft proposal is being circulated ahead of a possible follow-up meeting. Iran presented a separate seven-day plan to reopen the strait in September, which Trump rejected.

Warnings from both sides

Iranian officials have threatened a strong response to any new attack. Defense Minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi said in a statement on Sunday that Tehran is ready to respond to any threat without geographic limits. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, warned that any new strikes would face "devastating" retaliation.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran was prepared for both defense and diplomacy.

In Washington, Trump said he had a "very good" call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday and that they discussed the war with Iran. He gave no other details. Trump has said the United States will not launch new attacks on Iran until after Tuesday's midterm elections.

Regional tensions widen

The conflict has spread beyond the strait. In Yemen, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have repeatedly attacked Saudi military sites, oil infrastructure and transport facilities as fighting with Saudi-backed Yemeni forces has intensified.

The cost to the global economy is rising. Oil prices have swung by several dollars a barrel in single trading sessions, and Brent crude briefly reached $117 last week after a tanker caught fire in the strait.

Shipping companies, insurers and governments are now watching three things: whether the draft peace proposal leads to further talks, whether U.S. strikes increase after the elections, and whether commercial traffic can safely resume through the strait.