The U.S. reportedly carried out strikes against Iran on Monday even as Vice President JD Vance expressed hopes of reaching a "negotiated settlement" with Tehran.
America attacked Iran's Qeshm Island on Monday, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal, which added that Washington has been carrying out "limited strikes" against the country in recent weeks. The military campaign against Iran has been kept quiet on purpose so as not to signal any intention of major combat escalation, the report said, quoting an unnamed official.
Qeshm Island, off Iran's southern coast, is the largest island in the Persian Gulf. Located near the Strait of Hormuz, it has emerged as a potential U.S. target amid reports that anti-ship missiles, mines, drones and attack craft are being kept there in underground tunnels.
President Donald Trump's administration has been talking down risks of an all-out war with Iran, with Vance being the latest to claim "good progress" in talks with Iran.
"The president and I both feel really good about the prospect of potentially coming to a negotiated settlement," Vance told CNN on Monday.
He added, though, that Iranians are "unpredictable" and Trump retains "kinetic and non-kinetic" options against Tehran. Vance said that Washington has not set any deadline for reaching a peace deal with Iran.
Nuclear threat
Trump said earlier Monday that the U.S. had to go to war with Iran to stop the country from having "a nuclear weapon," that "we're not going to allow Iran ever to have a nuclear weapon. And they understand that."
Last month, the president had said the U.S. will not attack Iran before the midterm elections, after polls ahead of the ballot showed that support for the war had dwindled, with only 31% of Americans supporting the military action.
Trump told Fox News in an interview Monday night that the U.S. had to take a "little detour" to Iran to stop the country from having nuclear weapons.
The president said that the U.S. has bombed out all of Iran's potential nuclear power, but he might target Pickaxe Mountain next. Located south of Iran's Natanz enrichment plant, Pickaxe Mountain houses an underground nuclear facility.
"We might have to go after Pickaxe, but that's not a big deal," Trump said, adding the U.S. could destroy it in one hour.
On Nov. 1, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also said Trump would like to resolve the Iranian war "diplomatically," and prefers not to use military force.
