Iran closes Strait of Hormuz as talks head to Switzerland

Iran closes – Iran said it shut the Strait of Hormuz again, citing U.S. failure to end the war as Israel’s attacks in Lebanon continue. As uncertainty swelled across global shipping, Iran said its negotiation team left for Switzerland for talks tied to an interim U.S.-Iran

Saturday began with two conflicting realities—one delivered in Tehran, the other in Washington.

Iran said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz because of Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon. and warned that little was likely to happen in talks with the United States unless the fighting stops. The announcement landed as Iran said its negotiating team was leaving for Switzerland for discussions under an interim agreement. a trip originally planned for Friday.

Pakistan’s role as mediator added another layer to the timeline. Pakistan said technical-level talks would begin on Sunday in Burgenstock, Switzerland, with Qatari mediators also participating.

Iran’s joint military command said the strait was closed due to what it called the U.S. “clear breach of its commitments” for failing to end the war. That interim deal is meant to stop fighting on all fronts.

Just as Iran raised the alarm, the U.S. pushed back.

U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz, that traffic continues to flow, and that U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure it remains the case. Central Command’s military said 55 merchant ships transited Saturday with more than 17 million barrels of oil.

The clash wasn’t only about geography—it was about leverage. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagahei signaled that little might happen in talks until Iran feels the U.S. is living up to the deal, saying negotiations toward a final agreement will begin only once key commitments are upheld. If they are not, “the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized.”.

Iran’s negotiating team departing for Switzerland

Shortly after Iran’s announcement on the strait, the state broadcaster said Iran’s negotiating team was leaving for Switzerland. State media said the team includes parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and central bank and oil officials, among others.

In Washington, Vice President JD Vance said top U.S. negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already in Switzerland and working through technical details of anticipated negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. Vance said the interim deal gives negotiators 60 days to reach a nuclear agreement, but that it can be extended.

Vance told Fox News he expects to leave for Switzerland in “the next couple of days” while acknowledging the process is “always a delicate coordination dance.”

Even as negotiators prepared to talk, diplomacy was still trying to catch up with violence. As part of efforts to revive direct talks. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Araghchi in Tehran earlier Saturday. according to officials in Islamabad who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The interim deal came after the U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week. a milestone that left “plenty of questions unanswered.” Following the signing. the U.S. lifted its blockade of Iran’s ports and began allowing Tehran to sell its oil freely. The deal also calls for Iran’s assets to be unfrozen at some point.

In Lebanon, the fighting keeps tightening the knot

The Strait of Hormuz dispute is now being entangled with events in Lebanon, where Israel’s attacks have continued and ceasefire attempts keep fraying.

Iran told Hezbollah. according to a Hezbollah official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. that Tehran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until Israel announces publicly that it will comply with a “comprehensive ceasefire” in Lebanon and an end to military operations there. The official also said Hezbollah will commit to a ceasefire if Israel does, and there was no immediate Israeli comment.

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 strikes hit the southern city of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages. Lebanon’s National News Agency said.

Lebanon’s health ministry later said the death toll in the latest war between Israel and Hezbollah has surpassed 4,000. Mediators were scrambling after Friday’s heavy exchange killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.

An Israeli military official, speaking anonymously in line with regulations, said Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight. Israel’s army said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets and militants in southern Lebanon, including Hezbollah command centers.

On Friday. Israeli ambassador to Washington Yechiel Leiter said Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases hostilities. Earlier Saturday. Hezbollah said it had committed to the ceasefire but blamed Israel for violating it several times Friday night and said it would repel attacks by Israeli troops.

As the weekend dragged on, the conflict kept spilling into small towns. A strike on Barish village killed four members of a family: parents and two children. In Arab Salim village, a body was pulled from a destroyed house. In Doueir and Kfar Rumman villages, drone strikes killed a person on a motorcycle and a Lebanese soldier. Nine people were killed in strikes in Qannarit, Sohmor and Shehour villages.

In the coastal city of Tyre, Israeli jets flew low and residents told The Associated Press they were relieved Tyre had been spared in recent days—but now they felt reminded the war is not over. “Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire,” said Hussein Khoshman.

In northern Israel, some residents doubted the fighting would stop. Miriam Hod in Metula said, “I don’t believe in a ceasefire because it doesn’t exist.”

Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, Israel’s military spokesman, said Israeli forces were operating in a “forward defense zone” and would continue doing so.

A U.S.-Iran deal hanging on a Lebanon ceasefire

The interim agreement between the U.S. and Iran includes a halt to military operations in Lebanon and calls for the country’s sovereignty to be respected. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal. but their actions are shaping how both sides interpret whether commitments are being met.

A new round of U.S.-backed talks between the Lebanese government and Israel is expected to take place in Washington next week.

The broader dispute stretches back to Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Two days later, Hezbollah fired rockets and drones at northern Israel and Israel seized large swaths of southern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon. which Iran says is also a condition of the deal.

By the end of Saturday. the United States was saying shipping still moved through the Strait of Hormuz. while Iran was claiming the route was closed—and in both places. the same question hovered just underneath every official statement: whether negotiations in Switzerland can survive the pace of fighting. or whether the talks will simply become another stop on a road that has already been proven too hard to travel.

Competing realities were already in motion. In Switzerland, technical-level discussions were set to begin Sunday in Burgenstock. In Lebanon and along the border, strikes continued. And in Washington, Vice President JD Vance said U.S. negotiators were already working through technical details of anticipated negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program—under a timeline that begins with interim commitments and depends on whether either side believes the other is keeping theirs.

Iran Strait of Hormuz Switzerland talks U.S.-Iran interim agreement Jared Kushner Steve Witkoff JD Vance Abbas Araghchi Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf Pakistan mediation Qatari mediators Lebanon Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire U.S. Central Command