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- White House says chances of agreement have risen to 80-85% despite continued military flare-ups
- Political analyst says diplomacy is advancing under shadow of sustained US military pressure
AMMAN — The United States said Saturday it had intercepted multiple Iranian drones targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, even as Washington and Tehran signalled they were closer than ever to an agreement aimed at ending the Middle East war.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said that Iran launched several one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the strategic waterway.
US forces intercepted all of the drones, CENTCOM said, adding that shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained uninterrupted.
The command stressed that the strait, a vital artery for global oil and gas supplies, remained open to international trade despite tensions in the region.
The incident highlighted the fragile nature of diplomacy after weeks of stop-start negotiations mediated by Pakistan and marked by military exchanges despite a truce reached in April.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the so-called Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding had “never been closer”, while cautioning that no final understanding could be declared until all outstanding issues were resolved.
country has been a key mediator since the initial talks, confirmed that "a final, agreed-upon text of the peace deal has been reached".
"Peace has never been as close as it is now," Sharif said, while acknowledging "incessant misinformation" surrounding the deal.
A senior US official also voiced growing confidence that an agreement could be signed within days.
“If I were to give you a confidence that we were going to be signing this agreement, I maybe would have said 75 per cent this morning. It’s probably more like 80-85 per cent now, but it’s not 100 per cent,” the official told reporters.
The official said the proposed understanding would extend beyond Iran to include Lebanon, Israel and Gulf states as part of a broader regional framework.
Switzerland, meanwhile, said it had proposed hosting a possible signing ceremony and remained in close contact with both Washington and Tehran in support of de-escalation efforts.
Iranian media said that Tehran seeks the release of frozen assets and recognition of its right to enrich uranium, while US officials insist that sanctions relief and access to Iranian funds would depend on Iran dismantling its nuclear programme and fulfilling its commitments.
US officials also expressed concern that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could still complicate efforts to secure a final agreement, according to Axios.
Political analyst Amer Sabaileh said that the prospect of an agreement itself reflected the impact of sustained military pressure.
“The possibility of ending the war through an agreement reflects the effectiveness of continued pressure and the sustained targeting of Iran to push it towards signing,” he said.
“American military power remains present and influential. At the same time, the factors that could prolong the conflict, particularly those linked to Israel and Iran’s regional policies, are still in place.”
“That is why it may be premature to speak about the end of the war. What we are seeing is an attempt to manage the conflict through negotiations backed by force.”
