- U.S. Central Command denied Iranian claims of shooting down an American aircraft, stating all U.S. air assets are accounted for.
- Iranian state media reported destroying a U.S. drone near Bushehr, citing local officials and air defense activity.
- Explosions were heard near the Strait of Hormuz, with Tasnim reporting warning fire exchanged with ships in the waterway.
- CENTCOM accused Iran of violating the existing ceasefire by launching a ballistic missile toward Kuwait, which was intercepted.
- Axios reported a potential 60-day U.S.-Iran de-escalation memorandum is under discussion but awaits President Trump's final approval.
The U.S. military flatly rejected Iranian state television claims early Friday that Iranian air defenses shot down an American aircraft near Bushehr, with Central Command stating all U.S. air assets are accounted for. The denial comes amid escalating hostilities that threaten a fragile ceasefire and as reports surface of a potential 60-day U.S.-Iran de-escalation memorandum still awaiting President Donald Trump's approval.
Iran's state TV reported that an American aircraft was destroyed in Jam governorate in Bushehr province, citing Governor Masoud Tangestani. Semi-official Tasnim news claimed Iran tracked a U.S. drone near Bushehr and fired an air defense missile toward it, while Fars reported that Iran's integrated air defense system targeted a hostile aircraft over Persian Gulf waters.
The Pentagon responded swiftly and definitively.
"No U.S. aircraft were shot down. All U.S. air assets are accounted for," U.S. Central Command posted on X.
Explosions were heard near the Strait of Hormuz and Bandar Abbas on Thursday night, according to Tasnim, which later reported the sounds came from warning fire exchanged with ships in the strategic waterway.
Ceasefire violations mount
The aircraft claim represents only the latest flashpoint in a region on edge. CENTCOM reported earlier Thursday that Iran violated the existing ceasefire by launching a ballistic missile toward Kuwait, which Kuwaiti forces successfully intercepted.
"This egregious ceasefire violation by the Iranian regime occurred hours after Iranian forces launched five one-way attack drones that posed a clear threat in and near the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said in a post. "All drones were successfully intercepted by U.S. forces which also prevented a sixth drone launch from an Iranian ground control site in Bandar Abbas."
The U.S. military launched new strikes Wednesday, shooting down four Iranian one-way attack drones and striking an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas as a fifth drone prepared for launch. A U.S. official described the actions as "measured, purely defensive, and intended to maintain the ceasefire."
Deal or no deal?
Axios reported Thursday that a 60-day memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran is under discussion, which would extend the ceasefire, allow unrestricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and begin negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. Trump has yet to give final approval.
Rajan Menon, professor emeritus of International Relations at the City College of New York, expressed skepticism about the prospects.
"The administration keeps saying a deal is near—Iran has been noticeably more circumspect—but then also says that Iran must hand over (or agree to have transferred to a third country) all of its enriched uranium and also that the Strait of Hormuz must revert to the status it had before the war: a waterway open to shipping with no fees collected by Iran," Menon told Newsweek. "Tehran has consistently said that both conditions are unacceptable."
Menon characterized the situation as "a game of chicken: each side is racing full speed ahead, hoping that the other will swerve first to avoid a collision. The result could well be a collision—meaning a return to war."
The conflict's economic stakes remain enormous. The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, carries roughly one-quarter of the world's energy supplies. Iran's strategic position bordering this chokepoint gives Tehran leverage to disrupt global oil markets and send prices soaring.
Trump rejected reports of being close to a compromise deal with Tehran, even as Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced it targeted a U.S. airbase following American strikes on Iranian drone operations. The escalation has dampened hopes for peace and sent oil prices surging once again.
The question now is whether the competing narratives—Iranian claims of downed aircraft and U.S. denials, reports of diplomatic progress and simultaneous military escalation—represent the death throes of diplomacy or merely its latest complication.
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