Several explosions were heard in rapid succession on Iran's Qeshm Island, off the country's southern coast, late on Monday. At the same time, US officials were cited as saying the US military had carried out what they called "defensive strikes" against Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to sources, Iran's state news agency said witnesses saw two aircraft flying over the island. A semi-official Iranian agency reported that explosions were also heard in the port city of Bandar Lengeh, coming from the direction of the sea.
One US official was quoted as saying the targets were Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets. Other officials said the strikes were meant to limit Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping and did not signal a return to major combat. Another official said they followed fire by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on a US aircraft over the strait on Monday. There was no immediate official comment from Tehran or Washington.
Earlier on Monday, the IRGC claimed it had captured two US reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm using electronic warfare and destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz.
The reported strikes came on the eve of crucial US midterm elections and amid intensifying diplomacy to prevent a renewed war. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Iran wanted a settlement soon and that oil prices had fallen by almost $10 a barrel, while Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said "the ball is in the US court".