Iran warns against return to conflict after US strikes

US President Donald Trump confirmed that the United States launched strikes on Iran, as Iran warned no one would benefit from a return to war.

Mr Trump played down speculation he was preparing to resume bombing Iran.

"We seem to be getting everything we want," Mr Trump told the Financial Times yesterday.

"I'm ready, we're ready. We're locked and loaded if we need to go, but there may be no reason for it," he added.

Iran's chief negotiator in talks with the United States, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the Islamic Republic was "ready for battle with its finger on the trigger", while Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran retained the right to "legitimate self-defence" after the strikes.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his government was still trying to resolve the crisis "through dialogue" though, adding that "no one will benefit from this war" if it reignited.

Mr Pezeshkian emphasised that the country's supreme leader had recently granted the government new powers to negotiate issues that were previously "off-limits".

Mr Trump confirmed the strikes on Iran in an interview with Fox News, after US media reported strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

"They built an anti-aircraft facility. As soon as it was completed, we hit it last night very nicely," Mr Trump said on the 'Fox & Friends' show, adding that it was a "minor attack".

'Iran wants a settlement'

The war, triggered in February when the United States and Israel pummelled Iran in a massive wave of strikes, has been at a stalemate for months.

An Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel was not involved in the latest reported strikes.

The Qeshm attack came just hours after Mr Trump signalled that a deal with Iran "could happen", shortly before polls opened in the US midterms dominated by public dissatisfaction with the war and the inflation it had stoked.

"Iran wants a settlement, as soon as possible," Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Mr Ghalibaf said Iran had made its position clear and that "the ball is now in America's court to prevent war".

Qatar, a mediator in protracted indirect negotiations between the United States and Iran, said it remained hopeful of an interim deal in the war.

Both sides "are currently reviewing the ideas and proposals we have presented," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters.

"We remain hopeful that there is still a chance for a deal to take place," he said, adding Qatar was working "towards an interim deal".

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed on Monday that indirect negotiations were taking place.

Reopen the strait

US Vice President JD Vance said both he and Mr Trump were optimistic about securing an agreement.

"We've certainly made some progress. We'll see if we can make some more," Mr Vance told reporters on Monday.

A senior Iranian official said that Iran was ready to reopen Hormuz, a key energy corridor, within two days but only if the US agreed to its long-standing list of demands.

In September, Iran proposed a seven-day plan to reopen the strait, with demands including ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets, lifting oil sanctions and ending its counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

"The possibility of implementing this plan in two days is another indication of Iran's good-faith approach," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters at a briefing.

In the lead-up to yesterday's vote, Mr Trump kept up his threats against Iran, saying on Sunday that the United States may have to give Iran "the hammer" at some unspecified time.

The threat came after the US leader said he still had to "take care" of one or two targets, including so-called ‘Pickaxe Mountain’ in central Iran, a suspected nuclear site which Iran denies is such a facility.

Iranian officials have repeatedly warned of wide-ranging retaliation if the US resumes the war.

Iran says tankers destroyed after hitting mines in Hormuz

Meanwhile, four oil tankers caught fire after hitting mines while attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran said this morning.

"Four non-compliant oil tankers attempting to pass through the prohibited passage south of the Strait of Hormuz were destroyed after striking naval mines and are still burning," Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said in a statement quoted by state TV.

"Two other non-compliant ships or vessels have also been halted," the statement added.

The Guards also said they had shot down a drone over the strait.