US attacked Iran's Qeshm Island, WSJ reports

The United States attacked Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed US officials, as President Donald Trump signalled possible progress in talks with Tehran.

The Journal described the reported strike on Qeshm, the largest island in the Strait of Hormuz, as the latest in a series of limited US strikes carried out secretly against Iran in recent weeks.

Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that five explosions were heard in rapid succession on the island. It said some residents reported seeing two aircraft in the sky.

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 reported that some US officials described the strikes as defensive and aimed at preventing Iran from being able to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway has been largely blocked since the war began in late February.

Trump said Monday that a deal with Tehran “could happen”. Oil prices, which had risen because of Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz energy corridor, fell by more than seven percent Monday on optimism about a possible end to the conflict.