US President Donald Trump on Monday AEDT said he was highly unlikely to order fresh attacks on Iran as long as talks to end the conflict progress, even as both countries reported that shipping had been hit in or near the Strait of Hormuz.
"It depends on whether or not they sign a very strong agreement," Trump told CNN in a phone interview. "The answer is, highly unlikely it's going to be necessary."
CNN did not specify exactly what it had asked Trump, who also said that if strikes resume, the US has identified potential infrastructure targets, including 38 bridges "that we can knock down in literally one hour".
Trump previously acknowledged that the highly unpopular war with Iran was at least partially responsible for the stinging defeat that his Republican Party suffered in last week's midterm elections.
Earlier on Sunday, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi suggested peace talks had been paused while the political fallout of the Democratic Party's landslide victory was being assessed.
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"For the past few days, there has been no more travel (by mediators), and the reason for this is the shock that the election results in the United States have caused to everyone," Araghchi told state television.
"We now have to see how long it will take for them to digest these results, in order to determine how we are going to move forward."
Trump had hinted at renewing major attacks on Iran after the elections, but there has been no sign of a large-scale US military operation. Iran has said it would respond by striking US and Israeli targets.
Iranian media suggested that explosions in southern Iran on Saturday were related to Iranian military activities rather than US strikes.
Iran's state television said officials had not confirmed any missile strikes on Iranian territory following blasts heard in several areas, including on Qeshm Island in the strait.
Both the US and Iran have continued strikes on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, however, restricting exports of energy and other commodities vital to the world economy.
Iran's state television said the evening explosions might be related to Iranian military activity in the waterway, where Iran said two vessels had hit mines and a third had caught fire.
The US said its air force had disabled a vessel in the Gulf of Oman beyond the strait.
Tasnim news agency said two missiles had struck Qeshm Island, with no official information on possible damage. Neither Iran nor the US has commented on that report. Washington said on 2 November that it had struck the island in a limited defensive measure against Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets.
