Blast heard near Iran's Qeshm Island, IRNA reports
The report comes as US and Iran trade signals over talks and a possible strike on Pickaxe Mountain
Published
A blast sound was heard near Iran's Qeshm Island, the state news agency IRNA reported.
Qeshm Island sits in the Strait of Hormuz, the passage through which much of the world's seaborne oil moves. Iran has hardened its terms for reopening the strait, demanding an end to a naval blockade, the release of frozen assets and an end to regional conflicts. Those conditions emerged after talks between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
The blast follows a run of warnings between Washington and Tehran over a separate flashpoint, Pickaxe Mountain. President Trump has said the United States may strike the site, warning it could soon be too late, while also saying there is no current sign of activity there. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has said it will defend itself if the US strikes. Trump has separately said any conflict with Iran could end after the midterm elections, or sooner, and had called a recent meeting between aides and Iranian mediators productive, saying there was momentum toward a deal.
Brent crude had held near $99 on that momentum. A blast near Qeshm Island, if it points to a military incident, cuts against the diplomatic narrative that has kept oil steady, and tests whether the reported progress between Washington and Tehran can hold or is more fragile than it has appeared.