The White House has categorically rejected Iranian claims about a draft peace framework, calling the reports 'complete fabrication' and warning against believing Iranian state media. According to the White House statement, 'This report from Iranian controlled media is not true and the MOU they 'released' is a complete fabrication. Nobody should believe what Iranian state media is putting out. FACTS MATTER'. The rejection comes as Iran's state TV reported obtaining a draft of an initial, unofficial framework for a memorandum of understanding with the US on ending the conflict. Under the proposed framework, Iran would restore commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war levels within a month, while the US would withdraw military forces from Iran's vicinity and lift a naval blockade. The framework excludes military vessels and envisages Iran managing ship traffic through the strait in cooperation with Oman, though it has yet to be finalised and Iran will not take steps without 'tangible verification'.
A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards official has provided a cautious assessment of potential US-Iran military conflict, stating that war is unlikely due to what Tehran describes as 'enemy weakness'. According to reports from Tasnim News Agency, Mohammad Akbarzadeh, the deputy political chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, declared that the possibility of war is low, though he warned that the nation's armed forces are currently 'lying in wait with full magazines'. The official emphasized that Iranian forces remain fully prepared to counter any potential aggression, with Akbarzadeh stating 'Do not doubt that we will turn the area from Chabahar to Mahshahr into a graveyard for aggressors', naming places at each end of Iran's lengthy southern coastline. This assessment comes as growing hopes for a peace deal that would reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz trade route sent oil prices tumbling, with benchmark oil contracts falling more than five percent on Wednesday. Iran has outlined a comprehensive defense strategy for its southern coastline, with the Revolutionary Guards' navy insisting that only ships 'willing to abide by Iranian order' would be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite the framework reports, Iranian officials have indicated that significant obstacles remain in reaching a final agreement. According to Mizan news agency, Ali Bagheri, Iran's deputy secretary of the supreme national security council, stated 'Until we agree on all the issues, we consider that we have agreed on nothing'. Bagheri also revealed that Iran is negotiating with Oman, whose territory sits on the other side of the strait, on a new procedure for ships to pass the key waterway. The proposed timeline has been extended to two months for reaching a final agreement, with the framework requiring 'tangible verification' before implementation. If a final agreement is reached within this extended period, it can be approved as a binding UN Security Council resolution. However, the White House has rejected these reports, with officials stating the memorandum cited was 'a complete fabrication'.
The latest tensions have escalated following recent US military operations in southern Iran, with the most serious strikes since the truce took effect. As reported by Tasnim News Agency, recent US strikes in southern Hormozgan province, where explosions were reported early Tuesday, amounted to what Iran described as a 'gross violation' of the fragile seven-week ceasefire between Tehran and Washington. However, the US defended its actions, with CENTCOM spokesman Timothy Hawkins telling CNN that 'US forces conducted self-defence strikes in southern Iran today to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces'. The operations reportedly targeted active missile sites and boats attempting to lay naval mines, with Iranian state media reporting blasts in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas and the Revolutionary Guards claiming they downed a US drone entering Iranian airspace and fired at an F-35 fighter jet. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said on Tuesday that a peace deal remained within reach, but that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened 'one way or the other'.
The Middle East crisis extends beyond Iran-US tensions, with ongoing violence in Lebanon and Gaza creating additional complications. In Lebanon, Israeli strikes killed 31 people on Tuesday, including four children, according to the Lebanese health ministry, marking one of the deadliest attacks since the April ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military to expand operations in Lebanon with 'large forces on the ground' and take control of new areas north of the Israeli-held buffer zone. In Gaza, Israel claimed to have killed Mohammed Odeh, head of Hamas's armed wing, in a strike on Gaza City, following the killing of his predecessor just 11 days earlier. The United States is extending Lebanon's temporary protected status until November 27, while Israeli military officials have issued evacuation warnings for residents of Tyre and surrounding areas. South Korea has also reported that a probe into an attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz assessed that it likely involved an Iranian missile, with debris components indicating they were likely made in Iran.
