The Middle East was awaiting word on Saturday of whether Iran and the United States could reach an agreement to end months of war, after assurances that the two sides were closer than ever to a deal.
The terms of the emerging deal remain uncertain. Officials familiar with its contents say it is an initial framework to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas shipping, and to end the American naval blockade of Iran.
More contentious issues, including Iran’s nuclear program, would be deferred to a second phase of negotiations, where major differences persist and neither side has shown much willingness to compromise.
U.S. and Iranian officials have said that a deal could be signed within days. But the potential for that to be derailed remains high, with events overnight underscoring the fragility of the moment.
The U.S. military said early Saturday that it had intercepted and destroyed Iranian attack drones that were targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Fighting has also persisted in Lebanon, where Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah have been at war for more than 100 days amid faltering efforts to establish a lasting cease-fire. On Saturday morning, Israel issued evacuation warnings for nearly two dozen towns and villages in southern Lebanon, with reports of airstrikes and artillery fire soon after, while Hezbollah said a day earlier that it had targeted Israeli forces with barrages of rockets.
Iranian officials have said any broader regional settlement must include Lebanon, and have called for the Israeli military to withdraw from Lebanese territory and end its attacks there. In a social media post on Friday, the Israeli defense minister, Israel Katz, said Israel would not withdraw from territory it occupies in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. He said the country must retain the ability to act independently to block Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
The developments capped a week of swings between escalation and diplomacy. The United States and Iran exchanged attacks, and President Trump threatened to go further, warning that America would strike Iran “VERY HARD” and was considering seizing Iran’s oil export hub, Kharg Island, in the Persian Gulf, before retracting the threat hours later.
The military exchanges and increasingly confrontational rhetoric raised fears of a broader war, even as mediators continued negotiations behind the scenes.
