Latest / Best of: Features / US strikes Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, official says, leaving unclear what comes next

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US strikes Iranian targets in the Strait of Hormuz, official says, leaving unclear what comes next · Best of: Features

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  US strikes Iranian targets, in the Strait of Hormuz, official says, leaving
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  unclear what comes next. Written by Michelle L. Price, Sammy Magdi, and
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  Elena Bacatoros. This article is being read by an automated voice generated
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  by Everlet. The United States launched strikes on Iranian targets, a US
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  official said, in what appeared to be a limited operation on the
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  eve of Tuesday's crucial midterm elections. Iranian state media reported explosions being
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  heard on the islands of Keshem and Hangum in the strategic Strait
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  of Hormuz and in the nearby mainland area of Bandar Abbas. Unlike
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  earlier in the war, the strikes were not publicly announced. President Donald
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  Trump previously said the US wouldn't launch strikes on Iran before the
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  midterms. The unpopular war and the resulting impact on U.S. Gasoline prices
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  and other parts of the economy have been a vulnerability for his
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  Republican Party as it tries to keep control of Congress. A US
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  official, who wasn't authorized to comment publicly, and spoke on condition of
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  anonymity, said Monday that the strikes targeted Iranians using surface to air
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  missiles against the US in the strait. The move came as Iran
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  said it had a two day plan to reopen the critical waterway,
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  through which about a fifth of the world's oil supply flowed during
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  peacetime, and resume nuclear talks with the United States. Vice President Vance
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  boyed hopes for a negotiated settlement. Back channel negotiations have also been
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  playing out as Israel and some Middle East allies lobby Trump on
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  the way ahead in the more than eight month old war that's
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  rattled the global economy and wreaked havoc on Iran. Speaking before the
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  US official confirmed strikes, US Vice President J D Vance told reporters
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  Monday that Trump and I both feel pretty good about the prospects
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  for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. The Trump administration was last
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  known to have carried out attacks in early September. But thousands of
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  US troops remain in the waters off Iran to maintain a naval
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  blockade aimed at preventing tankers carrying Iranian oil from reaching the global
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  market. A third aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are also
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  on their way to the Middle East. The region is on edge
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  about the prospects of the US resuming full scale operations against Iran,
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  and the new strikes were likely to renew concerns. Netanyahu pushed Trump
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  for strikes in a weekend call. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has
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  pushed for another wave of strikes on Iran’s after They U.S. Elections,
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  according to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the
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  matter. A return to full scale war with Iran could help Netanyahu
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  form an emergency government after he and his far right allies lost
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  their parliamentary majority in last week's elections. Trump has alternated between threatening
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  major strikes and pushing for a deal with Iran. The TUU officials
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  said diplomatic efforts have made progress and that mediators are trying to
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  advance a framework for Iran to cease its attacks in the Strait
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  of Hormuz in return for the US lifting its blockade on Iran's
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  ports. They said more talks are planned for this week. The two
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  officials spoke on condition of anonymity, because they were discussing classified briefings
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  the had received from American and, in one case, Israeli officials. The
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  third person, who was briefed on the call, was not authorized to
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  comment publicly, and also spoke on the condition of anonymity. Iran says
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  it has a two day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
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  Iran has said it has a two day plan to reopen the
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  Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks with the US if Washington
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  meets its demands. Iran previously said the plan could be implemented within
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  a week if the US met seven conditions, including lifting its blockade.
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  Iran now says ships passing through the reopened strait would have to
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  follow a route agreed upon by Iran and Oman. Separately, Iranian officials
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  have said the US must lift sanctions on Iranian oil sales and
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  agree to a ceasefire that would include Lebanon. Iranian State Television quoted
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  the country's chief negotiator and parliament speaker, Mohammed Bagar Kalabaf, as saying
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  on Tuesday that Iran had delivered a firm and rational response to
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  the American side. The ball is now in America's court to prevent
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  war. It was not immediately clear what response he was referring to.
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  Kalabaff also warned that Iran's armed forces remained at the highest level
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  of defensive readiness. If Washington makes another strategic miscalculation, it should know
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  that this time it will face a new battlefield, and will find
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  itself even more desperate than it is today, he said. Associated press
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  writers Amer Madani and Kara Anna contributed to this report.