US downs Iranian drones targeting shipping in Strait of Hormuz amid peace talks

US military forces have downed Iranian drones that were allegedly targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in the early hours of Saturday. The claim comes as Tehran and Washington are seeking to finalize a deal aimed at ending months of tensions and hostilities.

The parties have been engaged in negotiations over a potential peace deal for the past two months, in an effort to end the conflict that began on February 28 with the joint US-Israeli bombing of Iran and the assassination of senior officials, including the country’s longtime supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

“Iran launched multiple one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM said in a post on X. “US forces have downed all of them in recent hours as traffic flow through the strait continues unimpeded.”

The US military added that the corridor remains open for transit.

The waterway, which normally carries around a quarter of the global seaborne oil and LNG trade, has largely remained closed throughout the conflict, although Tehran has allowed ships not aligned with the US or its allies safe passage. US President Donald Trump, however, has claimed that the US military has helped escort over 200 ships through the strait.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Friday that the Strait of Hormuz won’t return to its pre-war status, stressing that the strategic waterway lies under the sovereignty of Iran and Oman. He added that the two nations are planning to issue a joint statement in the near future outlining a new framework for administrating it.

On Saturday, Reuters cited a Western source as saying that a deal could be signed by US Vice President J.D. Vance and Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, in Geneva as soon as on Sunday.

The proposed memorandum of understanding calls for reopening the strait and lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, according to sources on all sides of the talks, as cited by the news agency. Negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program – cited by Trump as the justification for the war – would follow.