WASHINGTON — U.S. forces struck Iran again on Friday in a limited operation, hitting an air defense system that President Donald Trump described as minor and said was knocked out within minutes.
Two blasts were heard near Suza on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media said. Shipping through the strait, a key route for oil, has been disrupted since the U.S. war with Iran began in February.
The strikes were the first since Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which voters handed Republicans a heavy defeat. U.S. forces had reported what they called defensive strikes on Monday, when blasts were reported on both Qeshm and Hengam and near the mainland port city of Bandar Abbas.
Trump told reporters Friday that talks with Iran through mediators are continuing. Qatar has relayed a fresh Iranian nuclear offer to Washington, but Tehran has listed seven demands Washington must satisfy before formal negotiations, among them lifting sanctions and ending the U.S. naval blockade of its ports. The future of Iran’s nuclear program remains the hardest issue, and Trump has said it must be settled in any deal to end the war.
Late Friday, U.S. Central Command posted an offer of as much as $20 million, plus possible relocation, to anyone with information about Iranian nuclear sites, equipment or scientists. Tips go to the State Department program known as Rewards for Justice.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke Friday with his Qatari counterpart, the Qatari government said, after Trump and the emir of Qatar held a separate call on easing tensions. Gulf neighbors such as the United Arab Emirates, which was targeted by Iranian missiles and drones thousands of times in the spring, are watching the talks closely while preparing for the chance of renewed fighting.
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