Several reported killed in US strike on Iran's Larak Island

Oil prices dropped sharply Monday amid growing optimism that the United States and Iran may be moving closer to an agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures fell nearly 7% to around $96 a barrel by mid-afternoon, retreating from the four-year highs reached earlier in the crisis as diplomacy gathered pace in Doha.

The decline followed renewed signals from US President Donald Trump that negotiations with Tehran were advancing, though major disagreements remain unresolved.

Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem says an Iranian source claimed heavy gunfire heard near Bandar Abbas began after the IRGC targeted a vessel at sea, followed by US fighter jets striking IRGC naval boats in the Gulf.

According to the source, several IRGC Navy personnel were killed.

“The situation is still unfolding,” the source said.

US President Donald Trump said Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile must either be handed over to the United States for destruction or eliminated under international supervision.

“The Enriched Uranium (Nuclear Dust!) will either be immediately turned over to the United States to be brought home and destroyed or, preferably, in conjunction and coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran, destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He added that the process should take place in the presence of the “Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent,” as negotiations between Tehran and Washington continue through regional mediators.

Conflicting reports emerged from southern Iran on Monday after explosions were reported east of Bandar Abbas, a key port city overlooking the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian outlet Tabnak reported that the runway at Bandar Abbas airport had been struck by a missile, though no official confirmation was immediately issued.

Shortly afterward, Iran’s Mehr News Agency said the situation in Bandar Abbas was “under control” and there was “no cause for concern” following the explosions.

No further details on the cause or extent of the reported incident were immediately available.

Iran’s IRGC-linked Fars News Agency has voiced support for President Masoud Pezeshkian’s decision to restore international internet access, describing the move as a necessary “technical and security” step that would have happened “sooner or later” as cyber conditions improved.

The outlet said restrictions had originally been imposed to prevent cyber espionage and protect critical infrastructure during wartime conditions and an unprecedented wave of cyberattacks.

Fars also pushed back against criticism over how the decision was made, dismissing accusations that officials bypassed legal procedures or created a “parallel council” outside the Supreme National Security Council.

In unusually direct language, the agency accused some reformist media outlets of trying to exploit the issue for political gain instead of promoting “national unity” during what it described as a “full-scale war.”