Tehran closes Hormuz over Lebanon fighting
US-Iran talks to begin today in Switzerland
Iran dealt two quick blows to the interim agreement with the United States on Saturday, angered by Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon, saying it had closed the Strait of Hormuz and also announcing that while its negotiators were going to Switzerland for talks, not much is likely to happen there.
Key mediator Pakistan, meanwhile, said the technical-level talks will begin on Sunday in Burgenstock, Switzerland, with Qatari mediators also participating.
In Tehran’s first salvo, Iran’s joint military command said the strait had been closed, citing the Israeli attacks and US “bad faith” and “clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war. Its statement on state television warned that “if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned.”
Shortly after that, the State broadcaster announced that Iran’s negotiating team was heading to Switzerland “in the coming minutes,” a trip that had been originally planned for Friday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagahei, however, signalled that little might happen until Iran feels the US is living up to the deal.
“This trip is therefore about demanding that the other side fulfill its obligations,” he said, adding that negotiations toward a final agreement will begin only once key commitments are upheld. If they are not, he said, “then the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardised.”
In Washington, Vice President JD Vance confirmed on Saturday that the top US negotiators - Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff - were already in Switzerland and have been working through technical details of the anticipated negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
Vance told Fox News that he expects to leave for Switzerland “sometime the next couple of days” but acknowledged that “it’s always a delicate coordination dance.”
Meanwhile, the global economy braced for more uncertainty. Ships had begun transiting the strait after the interim US-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week, a milestone that has left plenty of questions unanswered.
Earlier Saturday, Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement there. Seven people remained trapped under the rubble after the strikes hit the southern city of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. The death toll in the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah has now surpassed 4,000, Lebanon’s health ministry later announced.
