Explosions reported on Iran's Qeshm Island
Local sources cited by Iran's state news agency say several blasts were heard on the Gulf island.
Published
Several explosions were heard on Qeshm Island, Iran's state news agency reported, citing local sources.
The report gives no cause and no word on casualties or damage. It follows weeks of intermittent strikes across the Gulf, including a US attack on Iranian boats that had tried to seize a Navy drone, reported earlier by this outlet.
US officials have given conflicting signals on the scale of any campaign. Vice President Vance told the New York Post the US is not carrying out aggressive operations in Iran, but said the conflict would enter a "much different phase" once the midterm elections have passed. Treasury Secretary Bessent has taken a harder line, saying Washington is now focused on ending the Iran threat rather than managing it. Bessent also said he plans to meet China's He Lifeng this weekend, with talks between the two countries continuing, and that the UAE has made forward-facing statements about cutting financial ties linked to Iran. The Congressional Budget Office has put the five-month cost of the conflict to the US at $38 billion.
Explosions on Qeshm fit a pattern of escalating, tit-for-tat strikes around the Gulf but do not by themselves change the underlying trajectory. Markets have largely priced in this level of regional volatility already. The bigger question for oil and for broader risk pricing is whether the openness to a deal that Trump has signalled gains any traction against Iran's preconditions, something Treasury and diplomatic channels are still testing. Until talks either advance or collapse, oil prices and geopolitical risk premia are likely to stay within their recent range.