US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US and Iran were in the “final throes” of reaching a deal, while Tehran's ambassador to the UN also expressed optimism that negotiations could conclude by the end of the month.
Mr Trump has repeatedly predicted an imminent breakthrough with Tehran over recent months, only for negotiations to stall and deadlines to pass without an agreement.
But his latest optimism was reinforced by Tehran's announcement that a vast funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader killed in the opening wave of US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, will be held after the first 10 days of Moharram, placing the ceremony around late June.
The timing has fuelled speculation that Iranian authorities expect a period of relative calm by then, as staging such a major public event while facing the prospect of renewed large-scale military action would carry significant risks.
Tensions remained high, however, a day after the worst exchange of fire between Iran and Israel in months.
Mr Trump acknowledged that a US military Apache helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz and said the two crew members on board were “fine”.
Why the Apache went down on Monday has not been determined. Investigators are still assessing whether it was caused by hostile fire, mechanical failure or another factor.
“The pilots are fine,” Mr Trump said on Monday night, after being asked if he knew what brought the helicopter down. “Nobody injured. We are going to issue a report tomorrow.”
The helicopter was part of an expanded US military presence in the area, operating alongside drones and fighter jets. It is the first Apache lost since the conflict began.
Violence has continued on several fronts between Iran and Israel since an April 8 ceasefire, and competing pressures — diplomatic, military and economic — are bearing down on all parties simultaneously.
The latest flare-up came 100 days into a war that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28. Thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, with millions displaced and global energy markets rattled.
“We’re in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal,” Mr Trump told reporters in New York on Tuesday. “We could have at least an idea one or two days from now.”
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran's ambassador to the UN, echoed that cautious optimism, expressing hope that talks could conclude by the end of the month.
“We hope so. We hope so,” he told AP, adding that any ceasefire understanding would be “comprehensive” and apply across the region, including Lebanon.
Lebanon remains the conflict's most combustible factor and a possible spoiler for any ceasefire effort. It is the flashpoint that reignited this week's exchanges and the issue over which Washington and its allies remain most sharply divided.
Mr Trump was blunt about the alternative to a deal. “If we go and bomb – which we could do very easily if we want – and we spend another two or three weeks bombing, they'll have nothing left whatsoever. But you won't have the strait open for months.”
Violence continued elsewhere across the region.
At least eight people were killed and 29 wounded when Israeli air strikes hit normally densely populated residential areas in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on Tuesday morning.
The attacks took place moments before the Israeli military issued mass displacement orders for the entire city of Tyre – including the Christian enclave of Mina.
Israel said, meanwhile, that it intercepted a drone launched from Yemen towards the Eilat area after air raid alerts were triggered.
Esmail Qaani, commander of Iran's Quds Force, praised Yemen's Houthi rebels for their decision to impose restrictions on Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea, describing it as part of a “new security belt of resistance” across key waterways.
The move threatens traffic through the Bab Al Mandeb strait and could compound disruption caused by restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
US Vice President JD Vance acknowledged a degree of divergence between America and Israel, particularly over Iran's nuclear programme.
“Israel may like that, they may not like that,” he said. “But fundamentally, we think this is in the best interest of the United States of America.”
The crisis is playing out days before the Fifa World Cup kicks off across the US, Mexico and Canada. The Trump administration will be keen not to see the international sporting event overshadowed by a widening Middle East conflict, while Tehran also has incentives to secure a period of calm before the planned funeral ceremonies for Mr Khamenei.
