President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could launch fresh strikes against Iran as soon as Sunday unless a deal is reached, raising the stakes in a confrontation that has already run for nearly eight months. Speaking after casting his ballot in midterm elections on Saturday, Mr Trump told reporters in Florida that an attack could come "maybe tomorrow", while also saying a deal remained possible on Sunday.

Tehran reports downing a US drone

Iran's army said on Sunday that its air defences had shot down a US drone over the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Reuters reported the claim on 25 October, noting that it came from Iran's military via Tasnim rather than from independent verification. The reported incident followed Mr Trump's Saturday warning and his remark at a rally in Georgia that he was unsure who he was negotiating with in Iran after the deaths of some of the country's leaders.

Conflicting signals on a deal

Mr Trump has claimed that Iranian leaders are desperate for a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which a large share of the world's oil moves. Iranian officials, by contrast, have strongly denied making peace proposals or offering deals through mediators to lift the US naval blockade, according to regional reporting of their statements. With both sides signalling resolve and denying the other's account of talks, Sunday's deadline is best read as pressure rather than a confirmed timetable, and DailyByte will update this brief as official statements from Washington or Tehran develop.