Pakistan says U.S.-Iran deal text has been reached; Iran holding ‘final’ deliberations

EVENT ENDED Last updated June 12, 2026, 9:48 PM EDT Pakistan says U.S.-Iran deal text has been reached; Iran holding ‘final’ deliberations Two Iranian drones were shot down last night, a U.S. official said. Iranian media reported that its military had stopped a tanker from passing through the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. and Iran appear close to signing agreement after Trump's repeated claims the war is over 13:24 Save Add NBC News to Google Updated June 12, 2026, 9:48 PM EDT By NBC News What to know Coverage on this live blog has ended. PAKISTAN SAYS DEAL IS CLOSE: Key mediator Pakistan has said a "final, agreed upon text" of a U.S.-Iran deal has been reached, though there was no immediate confirmation from the U.S. or Iran. President Donald Trump earlier pushed back at Iranian reports about the deal's contents. IRAN WEIGHS AGREEMENT: Iranian officials said the "final stages" of internal deliberations were underway, as sources tell NBC News the final missing piece is a sign-off from the country's Supreme Leader. DRONES SHOT DOWN: Tensions remained high around the Strait of Hormuz where two Iranian drones were shot down last night, a U.S. official said. Iranian media reported that its military had stopped a tanker from passing through the strait. THREAT TO KHARG ISLAND: Earlier yesterday, Trump said the U.S. would at some point seize Kharg Island and take “total control” of Iran’s oil and gas industry, although he later pulled back. INSIGHTS AND ANALYSIS: Get exclusive analysis and insight into the Middle East conflict by becoming an NBC News subscriber . NEW UPDATES 35d ago / 9:48 PM EDT Iran launched multiple drones at commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz, CENTCOM says U.S. Central Command said that Iran launched several drones at commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which the U.S. military shot down. CENTCOM says U.S. downs Iranian drones launched at ships in Strait of Hormuz 00:39 "Iran launched multiple one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM wrote in a post on X . "U.S. 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." 35d ago / 8:36 PM EDT Treasury's Bessent says deal with Iran could be reached in the next few days Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that a U.S.-Iran deal could be reached in the next few days and would bring economic relief to the nation. Speaking with host Laura Ingraham on Fox News, Bessent said the deal could come this weekend or perhaps Monday. “We believe that he had to take this opportunity to keep Iran from having a nuclear weapon. We will see, maybe as soon as this weekend or Monday, we will get on the other side of this,” Bessent said. The secretary said a deal will result in lower energy prices for Americans. "I am very confident that the challenging time with gasoline will pass by," Bessent said. He praised the U.S. economy's resilience and said he believes it will improve. "My message is the underlying fundamentals are excellent," Bessent said, "and we will be on the other side of this soon." 35d ago / 6:43 PM EDT Trump has agreed to release $24 billion of Iran’s frozen assets, military adviser to Iran's supreme leader says Major Gen. Mohsen Rezaie, the military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said that Trump has agreed to release $24 billion of Iran’s frozen assets, according to a report by the Young Journalists Club, which is affiliated with Iranian state TV. "Trump has agreed to the release of $24 billion of Iran’s frozen assets, but is unwilling to announce it publicly," Rezaie, who is a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said, according to YJC. The report did not provide any additional details. 35d ago / 5:29 PM EDT Memorandum of understanding with U.S. could be announced in next few days, Iran's foreign minister says Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with state TV that a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. could be announced in the next few days, according to the state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency. "We are closer than ever to that point. It could happen within the next 1 or 2 days, or within the next few days," Araghchi said. "I am hopeful." 35d ago / 5:05 PM EDT Iran will maintain control over Strait of Hormuz, Iran's foreign minister says Iran will maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with state TV, according to the semiofficial Fars news agency . "Based on Iran’s firm decision, the future of the Strait of Hormuz and the way it is administered will not be the same as in the past," Araghchi said, according to Fars. He added, "Our sword will remain poised over the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely, and whenever necessary, Iran’s armed forces will intervene." Araghchi said that Iran and Oman will soon issue a joint statement regarding the administration of the strait. Araghchi also said that Iran intends to charge a service fee for ships passing through the strait. "Under international law, it is not possible to levy a toll on passage through the Strait of Hormuz, but charges for services provided will be collected," Araghchi said, according to Fars. "And this will be formalized during the negotiations." 35d ago / 4:34 PM EDT Deal with U.S. will include 'ceasefire on all fronts,' Iran's foreign minister says The deal between the U.S. and Iran, which will initially begin as a memorandum of understanding, will include a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a live interview on state TV, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. The end of the war also means Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon, Araghchi said, according to the state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency. It is not clear if Israel will agree to these terms, as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz previously said that his country will not withdraw from Lebanon, Syria, Gaza or the West Bank. Another part of the deal is for the U.S. and Iran to respect each other's sovereignty and not meddle in each other's affairs, Araghchi said, according to Fars news, adding that Israel is opposed to the agreement. Details regarding two key issues — Iran's nuclear program and the lifting of sanctions — will be finalized in the next stage, which will be formal negotiations, Araghchi said in the interview. "The negotiations are structured in 2 stages. The first stage is writing the memorandum, and the second stage is the start of formal negotiations," Araghchi said, according to Fars. "The nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions on Iran have been deferred to the second stage, for which a 60-day negotiation period has been envisaged." He added, "In the second stage of the negotiations, discussions will cover the lifting of sanctions, uranium enrichment, the future status of enriched material stockpiles, and the framework for Iran’s reconstruction fund." Araghchi also noted that Iran would prefer to keep the enriched uranium within the country. "From our perspective, the only acceptable method for dealing with the enriched material is to dilute it within Iran," Araghchi said, according to Fars. Show more Araghchi said that the outcome of the discussions about the memorandum of understanding is "a 14-point memorandum, and once it is finalized, we will explain every single provision of it to the public," according to Fars. Araghchi said in the interview that the difficulty in reaching agreement on the wording for the memorandum has been highlighted in that it has taken two months to come up with a document that is less than two pages. The U.S. naval blockade of Iran's ports will be lifted and Iran’s frozen assets will be released after the signing of the memorandum of understanding, Araghchi said in the interview, according to the state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency. Araghchi also said that a reconstruction plan has been included in the agreement to address war-related damage. 35d ago / 3:26 PM EDT Iran's parliament speaker says commitments for deal must be kept Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a post on X that commitments for deal being must be kept. "Commitments made must be commitments kept. No ifs, no buts, no excuses. For the close deal ahead, there is no other way," Ghalibaf wrote. "You reap what you sow." Ghalibaf led the Iranian delegation in talks with the U.S. in Islamabad in April. 35d ago / 2:17 PM EDT U.S.-Iran deal still awaiting sign-off by Iran’s supreme leader, sources say The memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, if agreed to, would reopen the Strait of Hormuz immediately without tolls and restore prewar shipping within approximately 30 days, as well as lifting the U.S. blockade of Iran's ports, sources tell NBC News. A regional source, a source familiar with the agreement and a diplomat with knowledge of the text have shared some of the components of the deal, which Trump said today could be signed within days. The final sign-off from Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is the last missing piece, according to the sources.  The agreement would include a 60-day extension of the current ceasefire, which effectively collapsed this week with both sides resuming strikes. The prospective agreement includes Lebanon, where Israel has renewed its deadly offensive against Hezbollah. Show more Under the MOU, some steps toward addressing Iran’s nuclear program would happen immediately upon signing, while other aspects will need further negotiation. The deal, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan, would be called the Islamabad agreement and could possibly include a signing ceremony with Vice President JD Vance. The White House did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment, but Trump told reporters yesterday it was his understanding that Khamenei had already signed off on the deal.  A senior administration official earlier told NBC News that the “performance-based deal” would see no money released to Iran until it honors its commitments. 35d ago / 2:02 PM EDT Iran in final stages of deliberations, as foreign minister says deal has 'never been closer' Iran is in the "final stages of internal deliberations" regarding the memorandum of understanding with the U.S., Iranian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei has said. Baghaei said that he could not comment on where or when the deal would be signed, according to Iran's semi-official news agency, Fars. "We must first wait for a final decision to be made internally," he said. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said earlier in a post on X that an “Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding” between the U.S. and Iran has “never been closer.” Araghchi warned the media against speculating about the contents of the agreement, saying that Iran would share all details with the public “in due course.” 35d ago / 1:47 PM EDT Deal could be signed over weekend or Monday, Trump says Trump told Axios that he still believes a deal with Iran could be signed over the weekend or Monday, despite condemning what he said was fake information put out by Tehran on its contents. In a brief phone call, he told the outlet he had demanded clarification from Iran for state media reports that claimed the country would receive billions in frozen assets after the deal was signed, adding that officials privately "apologized for putting out false information." In an earlier Truth Social post, he said: "The terms that Iran leaked out to the Fake News have NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing. What they said, including their weak and pathetic statement on having a deal, bears no relation to the truth." 35d ago / 1:10 PM EDT Vance says 'no funds are being released for simply signing a deal' As details surface of a possible deal between the U.S. and Iran, Vice President