Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that while changes in the deal were still possible, the tentative agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict.
“Iran is the winner of the war with the U.S.,” he said on state television.
Hours after those remarks, U.S. forces shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones heading toward the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the drones had posed a threat to commercial traffic. U.S. Central Command later confirmed the action and said the waterway was open for transit.
Iranian news agencies had reported that explosions were heard along the strait in Iran’s Sirik port and Qeshm island, which residents and local officials attributed to shots fired by Iranian forces to warn vessels attempting to cross the waterway without permission from the Revolutionary Guards’ navy.
The proposed memorandum of understanding calls for reopening the strait and lifting the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, sources on all sides of the talks said. Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program – U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated rationale for starting the war – would take place afterward.
The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that the deal met Trump’s core objectives and put negotiations “in a very, very good place.”
Accounts of the draft proposal from Western, Pakistani and Iranian sources pointed to terms that could favor Iran, drawing criticism from Trump, who dismissed the reports as inaccurate.
While there were minor differences in the details, the proposals broadly offered Tehran much of what it has sought, with Trump appearing to secure little beyond the reopening of the strait, which Iran closed after the U.S. and Israel strikes in February.
Araqchi said Iran would, along with Oman, retain control of traffic through the strait, which before the war handled one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply.
“Our sword will always hang over the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
A Western source said the deal could be signed as soon as Sunday by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, with Geneva seen as the likeliest venue.
The U.S. administration official said Europe had been discussed as a venue for signing but no decision had been made.
Araqchi said the deal would be signed remotely before it is announced.
