{"text":[[{"start":0,"text":"The US has struck Iran on the eve of crucial midterm elections, as President Donald Trump and the Republicans have struggled to defend the unpopular war against the Islamic republic on the campaign trail."}],[{"start":23.68,"text":"US forces hit targets on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday night, in what was described by Washington as a defensive move to protect American military assets in the Middle East."}],[{"start":32.671,"text":"“This was a defensive measure for Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets,” a US official said on Monday night. Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard on the island overnight on Monday."}],[{"start":45.12,"text":"The strikes on Qeshm Island appeared to be limited in nature and not a return to the sort of major US combat operations against Iran that took place from February to April of this year."}],[{"start":56.48,"text":"The price of Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was flat in Asia, while gold was up 1.4 per cent to $3,930 per troy ounce."}],[{"start":68.56,"text":"US Central Command, which oversees American operations in the Middle East, did not respond to a request for comment."}],[{"start":73.2,"text":"There was no official confirmation from Tehran of the strike on Qeshm, but state media reported five explosions. The elite Revolutionary Guards claimed to have brought down two US reconnaissance drones over Qeshm and a drone in the east of the Strait of Hormuz."}],[{"start":88.084,"text":"The strikes, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, broke Trump’s vow not to attack Iran before the midterms on Tuesday when American voters will vote in polls widely seen as a referendum on his second presidency."}],[{"start":100.709,"text":"Trump’s war on Iran has become a political liability for Republicans fighting to keep control of Congress, as the conflict has driven up the cost of petrol and other goods and services, contributing to what voters feel is a cost of living crisis in the US."}],[{"start":114.48,"text":"Republican Senate candidates in battleground races, including Ashley Hinson in Iowa and Mike Rogers in Michigan, have called for an end to the Iran war amid pressure to distance themselves from the president."}],[{"start":126.735,"text":"Trump is weighing a return to full-scale war against Iran after the vote, a scenario Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing the US president towards. The two leaders, who launched the conflict together in February, spoke over the weekend but Trump had yet to make a decision, according to people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":145.76,"text":"Since halting major combat operations, violence between the US and Iran has flared at certain points."}],[{"start":152.39,"text":"Middle Eastern officials have also warned that renewed fighting could be more intense than those previous rounds. Iran has said that retaliation would be “immediate, effective” and “without any geographical limitations”."}],[{"start":165.619,"text":"Earlier on Monday, Trump and US vice-president JD Vance said a diplomatic solution between Washington and Tehran was still possible."}],[{"start":173.76,"text":"Qatari negotiators were in Tehran on Monday for talks with Iranian officials as mediators pushed for an interim deal between the US and Iran. Diplomat briefed on the talks said the discussions were “positive”."}],[{"start":186.08,"text":"“The two sides are now separately reviewing the latest suggestions from mediators aimed at bridging the gaps,” the diplomat said."}],[{"start":193.225,"text":"In a speech at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, Trump said Iran’s economy was struggling, with “no money” and high inflation. “They want to make a deal and that could happen,” he said, while claiming that the US was “easily winning” the war."}],[{"start":205.982,"text":"“Their navy is gone, their air force is gone . . . their missile capacity is way down, and their missile-building capacity is way down,” he said."}],[{"start":213.44,"text":"Later, in a Fox News interview, Trump said the US “might have to go after Pickaxe”, referring to the heavily fortified nuclear facility deeply buried under Kolang Gazla — known as Pickaxe Mountain — in central Iran, a few kilometres south of the Natanz nuclear site."}],[{"start":228.96,"text":"But Trump said: “That’s not a big deal . . . we can do that in one hour, as soon as we want, at any time we want.”"}],[{"start":242,"text":"Vance said the US has “had a number of good conversations with the Iranians”, and that he had spoken with Trump on Monday about continuing diplomacy."}],[{"start":243.613,"text":"“Look, the president and I both feel pretty good about the prospects for potentially coming to a negotiated settlement. We’re going to keep on working at it. You never know, of course,” he added."}],[{"start":254.2,"text":"Additional reporting by Bita Ghaffari in Tehran and Andrew England in London"}],[{"start":262.48,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793689000_5273.mp3"}