Iranian state television reported explosions on Qeshm Island, which Moneycontrol, citing US officials, says houses an underground missile installation and a naval base. State media and residents counted five explosions and two aircraft overhead. Iran says the Guard shot down a US MQ-9 drone and two MQM-170 aircraft near the strait. The US military has not confirmed that.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations center said a vessel in the strait was hit by an "unknown projectile," leaving a hole in its hull. All crew were safe. Gulf News places the incident off Oman's coast, while other outlets put it in or near the strait. Gulf News also lists two crude tankers reported, without verification, to have caught fire after striking sea mines, and an attack on a Qatari LNG carrier that Gulf states condemned.

The strikes came as US and Qatari mediators work on a deal. The talks reportedly center on Iran halting attacks in the strait while the US lifts its blockade of Iranian ports. Iran has proposed a two-day plan to reopen the strait and resume nuclear talks, on conditions: an end to the port blockade, relief from sanctions on oil sales, a ceasefire that includes Lebanon, and guarantees that Washington will honor its commitments. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the proposal remains the basis for negotiations. Vice President JD Vance said he felt "pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement."

Trump had said earlier that the US would not strike Iran before the midterms, and he has reportedly been weighing a return to hostilities afterward. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is urging another wave of strikes once the elections are over, according to two regional officials and a third person familiar with the matter. He reportedly pressed for sustained strikes in a call with Trump over the weekend. Trump has not committed to military action. On Fox News he said the US must still deal with sites such as Pickaxe Mountain, a suspected nuclear site, which he suggested could be handled in "an hour."

Other US allies in the region say more strikes would destabilize it. UAE Diplomatic Adviser Anwar Gargash and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty called for restraint and diplomacy, warning that further escalation would be destructive. China plans to send a special envoy to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia in early to mid-November to ease tensions.

The war is in its ninth month, and the cost of the strait's closure is reported to have hurt support for Trump and the Republican Party in the midterms. A CENTCOM estimate obtained by CBS News put the US cost at no less than $47.1 billion as of mid-October. That figure excludes damage to US bases hit by Iranian drones and missiles. Brent crude was at $105.25 a barrel in early Asian trading on Tuesday, edging higher after a 7.63 percent drop in the previous session.

Elsewhere, violence continued on other fronts. In Yemen, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said explosives hit a market in the southwest, killing seven people, including five children, and wounding eight. Houthi rebels accused Saudi Arabia of striking a port on the Red Sea coast. The Saudi-backed Yemeni military said a Houthi missile hit a medical center in Lahij province, killing at least five and wounding 15. The Yemeni Human Rights Ministry said a separate Houthi attack on a public market in Aqroudh village killed or wounded 26 people. In the West Bank, the Israeli military ended an operation in Hebron after two Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers, and hundreds of displaced Palestinians began returning home as Israeli forces withdrew.

Iran has controlled passage through the strait since March, along a route through its territorial waters near Qeshm and Larak islands. Lloyd's List described it as a de facto "toll booth." It reported in March that at least two vessels had paid for passage, one payment estimated at $2 million, and a Reuters investigation in May found some ships paid fees above $150,000. It is unclear whether Monday's strike damaged any checkpoints or changed how vessels are cleared near the two islands, and no independent assessment exists.

India sources more than 40 percent of its crude oil imports and about 90 percent of its LPG imports through the strait. According to Reuters, New Delhi used its embassy in Tehran to coordinate Indian vessel movements with Iranian authorities. On May 14, India's Shipping Ministry reported that 13 Indian-flagged vessels had crossed the strait and 13 remained stranded west of it. In July, the country's maritime regulator advised shipping companies to avoid deploying Indian seafarers on voyages through the strait.