France, June 13 -- The interception came after weeks of halting talks between Tehran and Washington, mediated by Pakistan, that have been marked by threats and exchanges of fire despite a fragile truce agreed in April.

US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees operations in the region, posted on X that Iran had "launched multiple one-way attack drones in an attempt to strike commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz".

"US forces have downed all of them in recent hours as traffic flow through the strait continues unimpeded," it said.

CENTCOM added that the Strait of Hormuz -- a key maritime trade route for oil and gas from the Gulf -- "remains open for transit", despite an Iranian-enforced blockade since the start of the war....