A screenshot taken from a video released by the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on June 11, 2026, showing what the military describes as strikes targeting ‘’Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems, and air defense sites.’’ (Credit: Photo provided by the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) / AFP)
The United States said Saturday that it had shot down several Iranian drones targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, despite optimism expressed hours earlier by both sides about a possible peace agreement.
’’Iran launched several attack drones with the aim of striking commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz,’’ U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X. ‘’U.S. forces shot them all down in recent hours, and maritime traffic in the strait remains fluid.’’
The incident comes as Tehran, Washington and Pakistan, which has been mediating between the two sides, have expressed optimism that weeks of arduous negotiations could soon produce an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.
However, the versions of a potential compromise outlined by Iranian media and U.S. officials differ significantly.
’’As soon as the final steps of our negotiations are completed, this agreement will be signed and announced,’’ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday night on state television. ‘’This could happen in the coming days. I am hopeful.’’
Araghchi said the draft agreement would provide for the lifting of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and new management arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz.
’’As long as a comprehensive agreement has not been concluded on all issues, we cannot assert with certainty that common ground has been found with the United States,’’ he cautioned Saturday.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the main mediator in the conflict, struck a similarly hopeful tone. ‘’Peace has never been closer than today,’’ he said.
In Washington, meanwhile, a senior official estimated the chances of reaching a framework agreement, which would open a 60-day period of technical discussions, at « 80 to 85 percent, but not 100 percent. »
’’The finish line has not been crossed yet,’’ the official said on condition of anonymity.
Signing in Switzerland ?
Switzerland has offered to host a possible signing ceremony, while a G7 summit attended by U.S. President Donald Trump is set to begin Monday in the French city of Evian, near Geneva. Tehran, however, said the agreement would be signed remotely once finalized.
Financial markets appear to be betting on such an outcome, with oil prices falling below $90 per barrel on Friday.
The conflict, triggered by U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 before a ceasefire took effect on April 8, has engulfed the Middle East, killed thousands, mainly in Iran and Lebanon, and shaken the global economy.
Trump, who CNN has counted as having announced an imminent deal 39 times, has struggled to find a way out of the unpopular conflict as November's midterm elections approach and as the United States prepares to co-host the World Cup.
On Friday, he posted an angry message on Truth Social.
’’The [deal] terms that Iran leaked to the lying media have NOTHING to do with the terms we have agreed to in writing,’’ he wrote.
’’These are people who have no honor. With them, it is impossible to negotiate in good faith.’’
Earlier, the Iranian news agency Mehr published what it described as a 14-point draft agreement, including provisions on maintaining control of the Strait of Hormuz, preserving Iran's right to enrich uranium and rapidly releasing $24 billion in Iranian funds frozen abroad.
Divergent versions
Washington has offered a markedly different account of the proposed agreement.
According to the U.S. official, the deal would lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic maritime route for global hydrocarbon trade.
It would also require the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program and allow the United States to take possession of highly enriched uranium, which would be destroyed and removed from the country.
Araghchi, however, said Friday that Iran's stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent could instead be diluted within the country.
Reducing enrichment levels to below 5 percent, far from the 90 percent generally considered necessary to produce a nuclear weapon, would significantly lessen the risk of military use.
Tehran denies seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, as alleged by the United States and Israel.
On the issue of frozen assets, ‘’the Iranians will not receive money and the funds will not be released simply by signing an agreement or participating in a meeting,’’ U.S. Vice President JD Vance wrote on X.
The issue is central for Iran, whose economy has been battered by decades of sanctions.
Another major sticking point concerns Lebanon.
According to Washington, the agreement under discussion does include provisions related to Lebanon, as requested by Tehran, despite previous U.S. insistence that the issue would be handled separately.
Lebanon was drawn into the conflict on March 2, when Hezbollah launched attacks on Israeli territory in support of Iran. Since then, Israel has continued strikes on Lebanon, saying it seeks to eliminate the Shiite movement. More than 3,700 people have been killed in the fighting.
