Here's the latest
• US-Iran agreement: Key mediator Pakistan says a potential agreement between the US and Iran is “likely expected” to be finalized in “the next 24 hours,” before being signed and followed by technical talks next week. CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
• Questions remain: Iran’s Foreign Ministry also signaled that an agreement is close, adding an “understanding has been reached on the majority of issues.” However, what Iranian officials have said about the terms of the potential agreement differ from US descriptions.
• Drones shot down: The US military said it downed multiple Iranian drones near the Strait of Hormuz as traffic flow through the waterway “continues unimpeded.” The most recent data from the strait shows little movement in the last 24 hours.
Both Iran and Oman have rights to the Strait of Hormuz
Iran and Oman are expected to release a joint statement on the future of the Strait of Hormuz “soon,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday.
The reopening of the waterway is expected to be a part of a prospective agreement between the US and Iran.
The strait has effectively been closed by Iran since the US and Israel began the war back in February. It is the main route for shipping crude from oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the rest of the world.
Both Iran and Oman have Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in the strait.
According to the United Nations, a state has “sovereign rights” to explore, exploit, conserve and manage the natural resources of the waters in its EEZ.
However, under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), “ships of all States, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea.”
A coastal state should not “hamper the innocent passage of foreign ships through the territorial sea,” it says, except in specific outlined scenarios. It may “take the necessary steps in its territorial sea to prevent passage which is not innocent,” UNCLOS outlines.
Iranian official meets with key allies in Tehran, as agreement with US reportedly near
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi convened with Russian and Chinese ambassadors in Tehran on Saturday, according to local media, to discussing “the latest developments” of a tentative proposal with the US.
In a joint meeting among the trio, “views were exchanged and discussions were held regarding the latest developments related to the draft memorandum of understanding in Islamabad,” the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) reported, quoting a statement from Gharibabadi.
“The strategic partnership between Iran, China, and Russia, and the coordination and cooperation among the three countries, will continue strongly,” the statement added.
US, Iranian and Pakistani officials have each issued statements in recent days about a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington – the exact terms of which have not been released publicly.
Some context: Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping are key allies of Tehran, with the latter having increasingly presented himself as a potential peace broker between the US and Iran.
Just last month, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged to support ongoing talks after his Iranian counterpart visited Beijing. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has provided intelligence to Iran about the locations of American troops and assets.
Potential terms expected to be finalized in "next 24 hours," Pakistan's prime minister says
The terms of a potential agreement that could bring a halt to the war between the US and Iran are still emerging, but one of its main mediators signaled today that it could be finalized in the “next 24 hours.”
“We are closer to a peace deal than ever before,” Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X a short while ago, adding that, if the deal is finalized, it will then immediately be electrically signed.
Should the deal be signed, it will then be followed by “technical level talks next week,” Sharif said.
A source with knowledge of the talks also told CNN that an electronic signing of the agreement is expected by the end of tomorrow, and could come even before. The source said there is a shared desire to get the signatures locked in so that the process cannot be derailed.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
Some context: While the terms of the prospective agreement have not been shared officially, a senior US administration official told CNN yesterday that framework will include the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.
The potential deal will also see an end to several economic pressures on Iran, the official said, as well as the dismantling of Tehran’s nuclear program.
Technical details of how to remove Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium have yet to be worked out, CNN was also told by a senior US administration official yesterday.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak contributed to this reporting.
Tanker struck by unknown projectile off Oman coast, UKMTO reports
A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile in its port bow off the coast of Oman, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operation (UKMTO) reported on Saturday.
The incident occurred on Friday, the UKMTO said, six nautical miles east of Oman.
All crew members aboard the vessel were confirmed safe by the UKMTO, and no environmental impact has been reported. The tanker is continuing to its next port of call, the UKMTO said.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for 105 days, cutting off 20% of the world’s oil supply to global markets, along with liquid natural gas and fertilizer needed for a functioning global economy, and causing oil prices to rise dramatically.
While Iran has consistently claimed the strait is functioning as usual, accessing the crucial waterway has proven difficult. Traffic has been significantly depleted with only a handful of vessels crossing each day.
Attacks on vessels in the region have become common, with tankers being hit by both Iran and the United States. On Wednesday, a US strike on a Palau-flagged commercial oil tanker killed three Indian seafarers and triggered public anger across India.
Slain supreme leader's funeral to take place in July, Iranian media says
The death of Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei stunned Iranians, many of whom had never known anything but his authoritarian leadership.
Now, more than three months after he was killed at the start of the US-Israeli war, the date of his burial has been announced.
The funeral will begin in the country’s capital of Tehran on July 4, with the burial set to take place on July 9 in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Iranian state media reported Saturday.
The burial ceremony will comprise of a two-day farewell to the slain former leader in Tehran and a funeral procession through the capital. A second funeral procession will be conducted in the holy city of Qom the following day.
A final commemorative procession will be held in Mashhad on July 9 before Khamenei’s remains are buried in the holy city’s sacred shrine.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was Iran’s hardline supreme leader who ruled the country for almost four decades before he was killed in joint US-Israeli strikes at the beginning of the conflict on February 28. His death sparked celebration among Iranians who opposed his rule and despair from pro-regime loyalists.
Khamenei was succeeded by his second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, a little over a week later by the 88-member Assembly of Experts. The elevation of Mojtaba was considered an act of defiance by the Islamic Republic, after US President Donald Trump deemed him an “unacceptable” choice during deliberations.
Since his appointment, Mojtaba has issued various purported messages to the people of Iran, but has yet to be seen in public.
Several Iranian banks hit by possible "cyber attack," local media reports
A number of banks in Iran have been “experiencing disruptions,” raising the prospect of a “cyber-attack,” according to local media, which cautioned that “no official authority has confirmed or denied the matter.”
Several chains — including Bank Melli, Bank Tejarat and Bank Saderat — have been hit by delays to mobile banking, internet banking, ATMs and card readers, the Iranian semi-official news agency Fars said on Saturday.
“Some sources have reported the possibility of a cyber-attack, but so far, no official authority has confirmed or denied the matter, and there is not enough information for a definitive statement,” the agency added.
In Iran, several residents told CNN they are struggling with rampant unemployment and hyperinflation – as cost of the fighting compounds crippling economic sanctions imposed by the US.
The violence triggered by US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February, Tehran’s retaliatory strikes and parallel US-Iranian blockades on non-allied vessels in the key Strait of Hormuz, have catapulted much of the wider region and beyond into economic disarray marked by fluctuating oil prices and food insecurity.
Abbas Araghchi: The Iranian foreign minister now boosting hopes for a US agreement
President Donald Trump on Friday reposted a message from Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stating that an agreement is close — the first time the US president appeared to publicly and officially endorse a position expressed by a senior member of Iran’s government during the war.
While nothing is yet signed, the optics seem more positive this time — on previous occasions Trump has talked up the prospects of an imminent agreement only to be knocked back by Iran.
Araghchi has become one of Tehran’s leading nuclear negotiators, drawing on his academic background and years of experience as Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson. These qualities helped deliver past breakthroughs with Washington, notably the 2015 nuclear agreement.
Like Trump, Araghchi has an eye for a deal. The chief diplomat wrote “The Power of Negotiation” in 2024 where he framed his technique as one inspired by the haggling in Iranian bazaars and his family’s carpet trading past.
As a young man, he took part in the revolution that birthed the Islamic Republic and fought for Iran’s military. Now, 63, the war has given him a surprising TikTok fanbase, with some younger generations praising his style in admiration and, perhaps, sarcastic humor.
Trump’s amplification of Araghchi’s message offers the strongest public hint that Tehran and Washington see a deal within reach, despite confusion swirling around the status of negotiations and whether an agreement has been secured.
The major pitfalls that lay ahead in any US-Iran agreement
There is suddenly newfound optimism about the Trump administration reaching an agreement with Iran to extend the ceasefire and to start to bring the war to an end — and not just inside President Donald Trump’s head this time.
Even Iran’s foreign minister says an agreement “has never been closer.”
But it’s important to note that, even if there’s good reason for the optimism, this would not be a peace deal, in and of itself. It’s the first step in a much longer process.
Getting here was likely the easier part; what comes next will be even harder.
The interim agreement under discussion would essentially involve the two sides coming to terms on some of the easier points — like ending Iran’s throttling of the Strait of Hormuz and the nearby US blockade — while setting a 60-day clock and a set agenda for resolving the more difficult ones.
The Trump administration is also claiming Iran has agreed to some very big concessions, but Iranian media is pitching a much different version of a tentative agreement.
Friday morning reinforced the fraught nature of what lay ahead. After media outlets connected to the Iranian government reported details of a potential agreement that looked very favorable to Tehran, Trump ripped into its leaders as “very dishonorable people to deal with,” with whom “there is no such thing as dealing in good faith.”
So what would Trump be trying to iron out with his irredeemably dishonest counterparts?
Take a look at some of the potential sticking points here.
The US has downed multiple Iranian attack drones since optimism on agreement was signaled
Despite the US and Iran both signaling that a prospective agreement between them could be close, Tehran has continued to target vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Washington.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced a “great settlement” that could resolve the war, suggesting it would be finalized in the coming days.
That evening, however, the US military shot down two Iranian attack drones that were targeting vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a US defense official.
Trump said in a social media post yesterday that Iran’s continued targeting of ships in the strait was “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”
US Central Command also announced early this morning local time in Iran that US forces had shot down “multiple one-way attack drones” that had attempted to “strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.”
CNN’s Kaanita Iyer, Lauren Kent and Michael Williams contributed to this reporting.
What to know about the Strait of Hormuz, a major flashpoint in the war
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday that a statement on the future control of the Strait of Hormuz could be coming “soon,” adding it will be jointly released with the Omani government.
A narrow waterway that bypasses Iran and Oman, the Strait of Hormuz is the main route for shipping crude from oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the rest of the world.
The strait has remained a major flashpoint since the start of the conflict, after it was effectively closed by Tehran following airstrikes by the US and Israel on February 28.
Iran controls the strait’s northern side. About 20 million barrels of oil, or about one-fifth of daily global production, used to flow through the strait every day, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which calls the channel a “critical oil chokepoint.”
While some producers, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have found alternative routes for their exports, around 10-12 million barrels of crude remain choked off from global markets.
The strait also carries about one-fifth of global trade in liquefied natural gas, largely from Qatar.
Iran's foreign minister says joint statement with Oman on Strait of Hormuz coming “soon”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday that a statement with regards to future control of the Strait of Hormuz should be expected “soon.”
Araghchi told the Iranian state television that the statement will be jointly released with the Omani government, per the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA). The Strait of Hormuz is situated between Iranian and Omani territory.
The comments come as a purported framework of a US-Iran agreement is said to be finalized, with its signing expected in the coming days. US officials have outlined several of the points laid out in the memorandum of understanding, including a complete reopening of the strait and lifting of a US blockade on Iranian ports along the strait.
Araghchi said that, under the agreement, the waterway would not return to how it operated before the war.
He added that the regime would not charge tolls but “service fees” for transiting the strait.
Sources: Iran escalated efforts to seal uranium cache and placed mines
In recent weeks, Iran has dramatically escalated efforts to seal off its cache of near bomb-grade uranium, deliberately collapsing tunnels and booby-trapping entrances with explosive mines, according to five sources familiar with US intelligence.
Getting to the roughly half-a-ton of highly-enriched uranium is now far more difficult, dangerous and time-consuming than it already was just a month ago, when President Donald Trump was publicly signaling that he might order the US military to seize it, the sources said.
The new fortifications by the Iranians add an additional layer of complexity to the Trump administration’s proposed deal with Tehran to remove and destroy its uranium, and the move raises questions about who will take on the dangerous task of digging it out.
Iran’s diplomatic delegation to the United Nations did not immediately return a request for comment, and the White House did not immediately reply to questions from CNN.
Trump has repeatedly stated that securing the material is a priority for the US in the ongoing negotiations to end the war and re-open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed.
And according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters Friday, the two sides are inching closer to a deal that would require Iran to turn its enriched uranium over to the US.
But US and Iranian officials have offered conflicting accounts of the tentative deal, and its precise terms remain unclear.
One year ago today, a 12-day war between Iran and Israel broke out
Saturday marks one year since a 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel began — a precursor to the longer ongoing war that would kick off eight months later.
The conflict began on June 13, 2025, when Israel targeted the heart of Iran’s nuclear program and its missile capabilities — an unprecedented attack that also killed several of Iran’s most powerful figures.
The operation, called “Rising Lion,” aimed to halt what Israel said was Tehran’s rapid progress in developing nuclear weapons.
The US was not involved in Israel’s initial attack, but it entered the conflict in its second week, with President Donald Trump ordering the bombing of several Iranian nuclear sites.
Behind the scenes, the Trump administration worked furiously to find a diplomatic solution, with the Qatari government serving as mediator — finally brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on June 24.
But the short-lived conflict dealt a heavy blow to Tehran. In 12 days, Iran lost most of its air defenses, missiles, launchers and plants; the echelon of its military command; and its crown jewel nuclear facilities along with its leading nuclear scientists.
CENTCOM: US downed multiple Iranian drones near Strait of Hormuz
The US military has downed multiple Iranian one-way attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command announced Friday evening.
Iran launched several attack drones that sought to disrupt commercial shipping near the strait, CENTCOM said in a post on X.
The US military said its forces “have downed all of them in recent hours as traffic flow through the strait continues unimpeded. “
“The international trade corridor remains open for transit,” CENTCOM said.
What Iranian officials have said about a possible agreement with the US
An “understanding has been reached on the majority of issues” between the United States and Iran, according to an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson. It’s not clear yet if Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has formally signed off on the agreement.
Earlier on Friday, a senior Trump administration official echoed the optimism, but said there are still details to be worked out.
Here’s the latest on where things stand:
- Iranian government officials are in the final stages of discussing the terms of an agreement with the US, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
- The memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran will address the regime’s nuclear program and sanctions relief, among other issues, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
- A statement with regards to future control of the Strait of Hormuz should be expected “soon,” Araghchi said. Under the agreement, the waterway would not return to how it operated before the war, according to the foreign minister, and the regime would not charge tolls but “service fees.”
- The agreement includes a resolution for the conflict of Lebanon “and all other fronts,” Araghchi said on Iranian state television.
- Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, claimed the US has agreed to release part of the country’s frozen assets, despite the Trump administration earlier denying any such agreement.
- The timing, location and details related to the agreement will depend on how the diplomatic process moves forward, Baghaei said. The framework could be signed by both sides remotely in the next few days, Araghchi said.
CNN’s Jessie Yeung, Mitchell McCluskey and Dalia Abdelwahab contributed reporting to this post.
What we know about a possible US-Iran agreement, according to a Trump admin official
A senior US administration official spelled out several points of the prospective agreement between the US and Iran – but there are some details that have yet be worked out.
Still, the official painted a picture of negotiations with Iran being in a much better place.
What else the official said:
- Reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the US blockade on Iranian ports are points in the framework. The agreement would also lead to the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear program, including the United States obtaining Iran’s enriched material.
- If the memorandum of understanding is signed, it would trigger a 60-day period for “technical” negotiations to take place. The official sidestepped a question about whether Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has personally signed off on the current agreement.
- Iran is “committing indefinitely to never procure or develop nuclear weapons,” the official said. Technical details of how to remove Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium have yet to be worked out, they said, and discussions about how to proceed would occur in the next round of technical talks.
- Iran would also be “relieved of a lot of the economic pressures that they’ve been under for many, many years” if the country complies with the framework’s provisions, the official said.
- Fractures remain within Iranian leadership about how to proceed, but the Trump administration believes the majority of officials are committed to the prospective agreement. Much of the messaging coming out of Tehran is “to sell the deal to their internal population,” the official said.
- The Trump administration feels “confident” that Israel “will get on board” with the agreement between US and Iran, the official said, but did not rule out future military action by Israel in Lebanon.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Alayna Treene, Alejandra Jaramillo, Jennifer Hansler and Kit Maher contributed reporting to this post.
