US Struck Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters Reports, and Oil Rose on Election Day

The United States struck Iran's Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported early Tuesday, Nov. 3, citing U.S. officials and an earlier Wall Street Journal report. Qeshm Island sits in the strait, and Iran's state media outlet IRNA had reported several explosions on the island, according to Reuters. Some of the officials described the strikes as defensive in nature, meant to keep Iran from attacking commercial ships in the strait.

U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters said. The strikes were described as the latest in a series of limited strikes carried out in recent weeks, kept smaller in scale, and they came a day after President Donald Trump raised doubts about whether he would follow through on a threatened resumption of major strikes against Iran and said a deal with Tehran could happen. Reuters reported that contacts between Iran and the United States to end their war are continuing, after Iranian talks with Qatari mediators ended with altered proposals but no breakthrough.

Oil markets moved on the news. Brent crude futures rose 48 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $105.25 a barrel in early Asian trade on Tuesday, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 47 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $96.93 a barrel, Reuters reported. The strait previously carried about a fifth of global crude oil and natural gas supplies, and traffic through it has been sharply reduced since the conflict began in late February. For Palm Beach County readers, the file is a major-national story on Election Day morning: the vote that decides control of Congress is being held while the eight-month conflict continues, and energy prices are the channel through which it reaches Florida households first.