The US has carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, US officials have told CBS, the BBC's US partner, writes BBC.

The officials described the strikes as limited and defensive, and said they were in response to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing on a US aircraft.

Iranian state news agency Irna reported explosions on Qeshm on Monday. The IRGC did not comment but said its forces had shot down two US MQM-170 drones south of the island and a US MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military has not commented on the strikes, which came as mediators stepped up their efforts to prevent a return to all-out war after the US midterm elections on Tuesday. Trump has been facing falling polling numbers and pressure from within his Republican Party to end the war, which began when the US and Israel attacked Iran in February. There has been mounting speculation in the last few days that the US may resume significant strikes in Iran again after the midterms. But asked by a reporter on Monday if that was the case, Trump said “no”.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press cited two regional officials as saying that, during a weekend phone call, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pushed Trump for another wave of strikes on Iran following the midterms. “Both parties remain committed to the negotiation process... We are facilitating the real-time exchange of proposals between them”, Majed al-Ansari told reporters in Doha.

Last week, Iranian negotiators discussed with mediators a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days once the US met its seven conditions. They reportedly include lifting a naval blockade of Iranian ports and releasing frozen Iranian assets.