Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz Again, Citing Israeli Strikes on Lebanon Ahead of U.S. Talks

Iran’s military command said Saturday it is closing the Strait of Hormuz again, citing Israeli strikes on Lebanon as the reason, as U.S. and Iranian negotiators prepared to meet in Switzerland.

“US and Iran to talk Sunday in Switzerland as Tehran says it closed Strait of Hormuz again US and Iran to talk Sunday in Switzerland as Tehran says it closed Strait of Hormuz again TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — U”

AP News

The BBC reported that an Iranian delegation landed in Switzerland ahead of further talks with the U.S., with Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf leading the delegation and the talks framed as following up on an existing deal rather than beginning a second phase.

AP News

The Washington Post said the closure was intended to test a “fragile ceasefire agreement” meant to lead to broader peace with the United States, while the AP reported that U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose American tolls if a final deal is not reached in 60 days.

In the same AP report, the interim agreement is described as calling for toll-free travel for 60 days, and it says U.S. Vice President JD Vance left for Switzerland on Saturday evening as Iranian state TV posted video showing Iran’s negotiators arriving there.

The U.S. disputed Iran’s claim, with the BBC saying U.S. Central Command reported traffic in the waterway had continued, while the AP quoted Capt. Tim Hawkins saying, “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case.”

MS NOW, citing Iranian state media via the Associated Press, said Iran blamed Israel for violating a freshly announced ceasefire with Hezbollah by continuing to attack targets in Lebanon, while the Israeli military accused the Tehran-backed militia of breaking the terms first.

BBC

In the AP account of the wider negotiations, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state TV that negotiations toward a final agreement will begin once key commitments are upheld, warning that “the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized.”

The Hill reported that Vance told “Fox & Friends Weekend” that there was “no evidence that Iran had blocked off the Strait of Hormuz,” and it also quoted Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters announcing that “the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to the passage of vessels.”

As talks moved toward technical-level discussions in Switzerland, the AP said negotiators for the U.S. and Qatar, with help from Iran, worked out an agreement between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group to tamp down hostilities, while noting that Israel and Hezbollah are not signatories to the U.S.-Iran deal.

“Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again on Saturday and warned vessels to stay away from the critical shipping route, but the U”

CNBC

The AP also reported that the interim deal gives negotiators 60 days to reach a nuclear agreement and calls for billions of dollars of Iran’s assets to be unfrozen, while NBC News said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy warned ships not to approach the waterway and said vessels’ safety would be at risk if they did so.

France 24 said Trump threatened U.S. tolls on the Strait of Hormuz if negotiators fail to finalise a deal to end the war, and it placed the warning alongside Iran’s renewed closure claim over Israel’s attacks on southern Lebanon.

In the BBC’s account of the negotiations’ fragility, it described a 14-point deal signed earlier this week that aims to end the war and begins a 60-day negotiating period to resolve wider issues including Iran’s nuclear programme, and it said agreement “appears fragile” as the U.S. and Iran head to Switzerland.