Iran says US reply to Hormuz plan ‘unconvincing’; Trump confirms strikes

Indirect talks continue as Trump says US military struck an Iranian anti-aircraft facility on Tuesday.

An empty meeting room awaits US, Iranian, Qatari and Pakistani delegations in Switzerland on June 21, 2026, for talks following a memorandum of understanding that failed to deliver a lasting peace [File: Nathan Howard / Getty Images]

Iran has called the US response to its seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz “unconvincing” as US President Donald Trump confirmed launching strikes on an Iranian island near the strategic waterway.

The developments on Tuesday came as Qatar stepped up diplomatic efforts to avert a renewed war between the US and Iran and as another oil tanker was attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

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The indirect talks centre on an Iranian proposal to reopen the waterway over two days, if the US meets Tehran’s seven demands, including the lifting of sanctions and ending a US naval blockade.

Despite reports of progress in recent days, Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Tuesday that Washington’s response had fallen short.

“America’s response to Iran’s rights and demands was not convincing, and they must fully and explicitly address Iran’s seven conditions and act upon them,” he wrote on X.

“Only in this case will the Strait of Hormuz be reopened.”

His post came after Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that talks were continuing and that both sides “remain committed to the negotiation process”.

He said Qatar was facilitating the “real-time exchange of proposals between” the US and Iran.

Attack on Qeshm Island

In Washington, DC, Trump confirmed the US had struck Iran early on Tuesday, telling Fox News that the strikes had targeted an anti-aircraft facility.

He described the operation as a “minor attack” and said it “wasn’t war”.

“They built an anti-aircraft facility. It took them about two months. We watched it get built. As soon as it was completed, we hit it last night,” he said.

Iranian media said the strikes hit Qeshm Island in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier in the day, US officials told US media that the strikes had been “defensive” and followed Iranian fire at an American aircraft.

The strikes came as US media, citing US officials, reported that Central Command had prepared plans for strikes that could begin as early as Wednesday, after the midterm elections, when three American aircraft carriers would be in the region.

The crucial elections could cost Trump’s Republicans control of both the House and the Senate, and fears have grown that Trump could carry out a threatened attack on Iran once the vote is over.

US media have previously reported that the planned campaign would be short and intense.

Trump meanwhile repeated warnings of further military action on Tuesday, saying, “I’m not looking to … kill lots of people” and “If we have to, we’ll have to.”

In an earlier interview with the Financial Times, he suggested he was content with the state of the stand-off with Iran. “We seem to be getting everything we want,” the paper quoted him as saying in a six-minute telephone interview.

Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, meanwhile ordered the military at the weekend to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical limits, and to update its list of targets.

Iranian officials have suggested that European countries and undersea cables in the Gulf could be targeted.

Tanker struck in Hormuz

As officials weighed the possibility of escalation, commercial shipping came under further attack.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that two unidentified projectiles struck a tanker’s engine room about 14 nautical miles (26km) northeast of Oman’s coastal village of Limah on Tuesday. No casualties were reported.

Separately, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed four tankers had struck mines and caught fire after switching off navigation and identification systems and using what it described as unauthorised routes through Hormuz, and said its forces had seized two other vessels.

That account could not be independently verified or linked to the incident reported by UKMTO.

The IRGC also claimed it had destroyed two US LUCAS attack drones over Bandar Khamir, according to Iranian state broadcaster Pars Today.

John Mearsheimer, a US political scientist, questioned whether another short bombing campaign could achieve Washington’s objectives, warning that Iranian retaliation could draw the US into a longer confrontation.

“If the 40-day bombing campaign didn’t work, how is the three-day bombing campaign going to work?” he asked in a video commentary, referring to the initial US-Israeli air campaign and proposals for a shorter renewed offensive.

He argued that an Iranian response could prompt further US escalation, increasing the damage to the global economy.

特朗普称美军周二袭击了伊朗防空设施，双方继续进行间接谈判。

2026年6月21日，美国、伊朗、卡塔尔和巴基斯坦代表团在瑞士一间空荡荡的会议室里等待着他们举行会谈。此前签署的谅解备忘录未能带来持久和平。[图片：Nathan Howard / Getty Images]

伊朗称美国对其重新开放霍尔木兹海峡的七项条件的回应“缺乏说服力”，与此同时，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普证实对靠近该战略水道的伊朗岛屿发动了袭击。

周二的事态发展正值卡塔尔加大外交努力以避免美国和伊朗之间再次爆发战争之际，与此同时，另一艘油轮在霍尔木兹海峡遭到袭击。

美国袭击格什姆岛（共四项）之一，佩泽什基扬表示将采取更多外交手段：伊朗战争最新进展

伊朗反谈判强硬派转而反对佩泽什基安总统（共4项，此为第2项）

列表 3（共 4 条）：如何阻止美以对伊朗的战争

（共4条）调解员在战争言论甚嚣尘上之际继续进行美伊谈判：我们目前掌握的信息

间接会谈的核心是伊朗提出的在两天内重新开放该水道的提议，前提是美国满足德黑兰的七项要求，包括解除制裁和结束美国海上封锁。

尽管有报道称最近几天取得了一些进展，但伊朗最高国家安全委员会秘书莫森·雷扎伊周二表示，华盛顿的反应还不够充分。

“美国对伊朗的权利和要求的回应并不令人信服，他们必须全面、明确地回应伊朗的七项条件并采取行动，”他在X上写道。

“只有在这种情况下，霍尔木兹海峡才会重新开放。”

此前，卡塔尔外交部发言人马吉德·安萨里表示，谈判仍在继续，双方“仍然致力于谈判进程”。

他表示，卡塔尔正在促进美国和伊朗之间“实时交换建议”。

对格什姆岛的袭击

周二早些时候，特朗普在华盛顿特区向福克斯新闻证实，美国对伊朗发动了袭击，并表示袭击目标是一处防空设施。

他将这次行动描述为“小规模袭击”，并表示“这不是战争”。

“他们建了一个防空设施，花了大约两个月时间。我们亲眼看着它建成。昨晚，设施一完工，我们就发动了袭击。”他说。

伊朗媒体称，空袭目标是位于霍尔木兹海峡附近的波斯湾格什姆岛。当天早些时候，美国官员告诉美国媒体，此次空袭是“防御性的”，起因是伊朗向一架美国飞机开火。

据美国媒体援引美国官员的话报道，中央司令部已制定打击计划，最早可能在周三（中期选举之后）开始，届时三艘美国航空母舰将停泊在该地区。

这次关键选举可能会让特朗普的共和党失去对众议院和参议院的控制权，人们越来越担心，一旦投票结束，特朗普可能会对伊朗发动他威胁要发动的袭击。

美国媒体此前报道称，此次竞选活动将持续时间短、强度大。

与此同时，特朗普周二再次发出进一步军事行动的警告，他说：“我不想……杀死很多人”和“如果必须的话，我们就必须这样做”。

在早前接受《金融时报》采访时，他暗示自己对与伊朗的僵局现状感到满意。该报援引他在一段六分钟的电话采访中的话说：“我们似乎得到了我们想要的一切。”

与此同时，伊朗最高领袖穆杰塔巴·哈梅内伊周末下令军队立即对任何威胁作出反应，且不受地域限制，并更新其目标清单。

伊朗官员暗示，欧洲国家和海湾地区的海底电缆可能成为攻击目标。

霍尔木兹海峡油轮遇险

在官员们权衡局势升级的可能性之际，商业航运遭到进一步袭击。

英国海事贸易行动处（UKMTO）报告称，周二，两枚不明飞行物击中了一艘油轮的机舱，事发地点位于阿曼沿海村庄利马东北约14海里（26公里）处。目前尚无人员伤亡报告。

另据报道，伊斯兰革命卫队（IRGC）声称，四艘油轮在关闭导航和识别系统并使用其所称的未经授权的霍尔木兹航线后触雷起火，并表示其部队已扣押另外两艘船只。

该账户无法独立核实，也无法与英国海事组织报告的事件联系起来。

据伊朗国家广播公司Pars Today报道，伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队还声称在哈米尔港上空摧毁了两架美国卢卡斯攻击无人机。

美国政治学家约翰·米尔斯海默质疑另一次短期轰炸行动能否实现华盛顿的目标，并警告说伊朗的报复可能会使美国陷入更长时间的对抗。

“如果40天的轰炸行动没有奏效，那么三天的轰炸行动又怎么可能奏效呢？”他在一段视频评论中问道，他指的是最初的美以空袭行动以及关于缩短时间、重新发起攻势的提议。

他认为，伊朗的回应可能会促使美国进一步升级冲突，从而加剧对全球经济的损害。