The US launched strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, according to US officials who spoke to CBS. Iranian state news agency IRNA reported several explosions on the island. US officials described the strikes as limited and said they were in response to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps firing on a US aircraft.
The strikes occur ahead of US midterm elections that will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control Congress. Trump has faced falling polling numbers and pressure within his party to end the war, which began when the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.
On Monday, Trump told reporters he was in "no rush" to ramp up strikes on Iran. "One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush," he told Axios. "We crippled them financially. They have no money, no gasoline and their people are getting very tired of it."
Trump also said the US "might need to go after Pickaxe," a site linked to Iran's nuclear programme, calling it "not a big deal" and something that could be done in "one hour" in an interview with Fox News.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told IRNA that "very intensive" talks to end the war are underway with the US via mediators. Araghchi said Tehran was prepared for both diplomatic and military scenarios and that it was up to the US to choose between negotiation or "the mistake of military aggression."