Trump orders ‘minor’ strikes on Iran as Qatar pushes Hormuz deal
American forces struck an Iranian air-defence site on Qeshm island on Friday, the first attack since the midterms. “They built a little bit of an anti-aircraft device and we knocked it out in about 15 minutes, maybe five,” Donald Trump told reporters in West Palm Beach, adding: “We are talking to Iran. We have been.” Qatar is circulating a plan: the US lifts its naval blockade, Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz and admits nuclear inspectors.
Iranian state media reported two explosions in the Suza area of Qeshm and claimed air defences downed an American MQ-9 drone, a claim no other source confirms. Central Command called the situation “relatively calm”. The Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, told an Oxford audience the crisis “cannot be left unresolved” and that US officials “have very genuine intentions to find a way to contain the situation and de-escalate it”; on Saturday Doha dismissed reports the talks had failed as claims that “serve only those seeking to prolong the war”. Under the plan, Washington would release part of $8bn in frozen assets and Iran would admit International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors on the basis of the abandoned Cairo agreement of September 2025, using a shipping route already agreed with Oman; Tehran’s preconditions include an end to the Lebanon war, sanctions relief and reparations, and a $300bn reconstruction fund is mooted. The stakes for Britain are at the pump: 10.23 million barrels a day passed through the strait in October, and Brent, though down 16% on the week, closed at $98.32. Watch Monday’s oil open for the market’s verdict on “minor”.