Iran’s joint military command said the strait had been closed due to Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Iran’s negotiators are heading to Switzerland for Iran-US talks on their interim deal.
US Vice President Vance heads to Switzerland for Iran talks
US Vice President JD Vance has left Washington for talks with Iran in Switzerland.
“I can only be there for a day or two,” Vance told reporters before departing from Joint Base Andrews on Saturday.
“I think we’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue … make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue. Those are the two big things that I think we’re to be focused on.”
Brokered by Pakistan, Sunday’s talks aim to implement a framework deal to end the Iran conflict, which has halted oil and gas exports from the Persian Gulf.
Vance’s trip was delayed from Friday after Tehran initially canceled its participation in the talks over Israel’s continued strikes against Hezbollah miltants in Lebanon.
Israel orders halt to fighting in Lebanon, army official
Israel’s military (IDF) has received orders from the country’s political leadership to halt fighting in southern Lebanon, an Israeli army official said.
“The IDF has received updated directives from the political echelon to cease fire,” the official said in a statement, adding that the military was “not conducting proactive strikes,” but “operating in a defensive manner within the security zone.”
The statement disclosed that the IDF was operating in the area around Tebnit, in southern Lebanon.
Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have engaged in heavy clashes, with both sides trading blame for breaching the renewed US-brokered ceasefire.
Israeli strikes over the past two days killed around 100 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanese officials. The IDF said five soldiers have been killed in the fighting.
Trump: No Strait of Hormuz tolls now or in future
US President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran must not charge tolls for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
His comments came hours after Tehran said it has once again closed the narrow waterway that carries a quarter of the world’s oil and gas from the Persian Gulf.
Iranian officials cited Israel’s continuing attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon for the decision.
The strait had only been open for a few days after traffic was halted when the war broke out on February 28.
“There will be NO TOLLS in the Hormuz Strait for 60 days during the Cease Fire Period, and there will be NO TOLLS after the 60 day period has expired,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
However, he threatened that Washington may impose tolls should a deal to end the war not be finalized.
Trump said the fees would be levied “for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East for purposes of both past, present, and future reimbursement of costs.”
Brokered by Pakistan, US and Iranian negotiators are meeting in Switzerland on Sunday to progress talks for a permanent end to the war.
Israel and Hezbollah trade accusations as fighting flares in Lebanon
Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group accused each other of violating the terms of a renewed ceasefire agreementannounced a day earlier by the US.
“Hezbollah continues to constantly violate the ceasefire,” Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said on X.
The Lebanon-based Hezbollah said on Saturday that Israel bore “full responsibility” for violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Ongoing Israeli attacks “are no longer just ceasefire agreement violations but represent clear aggression and a continuation of the war in every sense. Accordingly, full responsibility lies with the Israeli occupation” Hezbollah said in a statement. It added, Israel “has never adhered to ceasefire provisions” including the recent US-Iran interim agreement.
The 14-point interim agreement stipulates an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” according to a senior US administration official.
US military keeps watch after Iran announces Hormuz closure
Shortly after Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the US military said Saturday it remained “present and vigilant” in the vital waterway.
“US forces remain present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect,” US Central Command said in a statement.
Following the joint US-Israel strikes on Tehran on February 28, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, an important conduit for oil and gas shipments, to shipping traffic.
US-Iran talks to be held Sunday in Switzerland, Pakistan says
Pakistan, a key mediator in US-Iran talks, said technical talks to implement the interim deal to end the war in the Middle East would take place in Switzerland on Sunday.
“As a follow-up to the signing of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, technical-level talks will be held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, on 21 June,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
It added Pakistani and Qatari mediators would join the negotiations with US and Iranian representatives.
Iran’s negotiating team is heading to Switzerland, state TV reports
Iranian state television reported on Saturday that the country’s negotiating team is heading to Switzerland for talks with Washington. The trip had originally been scheduled for Friday but was canceled.
“This trip is therefore about demanding that the other side fulfill its obligations,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Bagahei told state TV.
The announcement came shortly after Iran’s joint military command said the Strait of Hormuz had been closed again because of continued Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
The ongoing hostilities have strained the US-Iran interim agreement.
Bagahei also said that talks to reach a final agreement will begin only once key commitments, including an end to fighting in Lebanon, are fulfilled.
“If any part of these understandings, any part of these commitments, is not implemented, then the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized,” Bagahei said.
Meanwhile, US Vice President JD Vance said on Saturday that he expects to travel to Switzerland soon for talks with Iranian officials.
In an interview with Fox News, Vance said he remained confident that the 14-point memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran would hold. He also said he had seen no evidence that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed.
Iran says Strait of Hormuz closed over Israel’s attacks on Lebanon
Iran’s central military command on Saturday said that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed again over Israel’s attacks on southern Lebanon.
“It is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic,” said the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters in a statement carried by state TV.
It called the move the “first step” in a response to what it described as a breach of Tehran’s agreement with the United States.
“If the aggression continues, further steps will be planned and taken to force the enemy to comply with its obligations,” it added.
Ships had begun transiting the waterway after the interim US-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week.
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Hezbollah accuses Israel of an ‘infiltration attempt’
According to the Lebanon-based Hezbollah, Israeli forces used the Friday ceasefire to advance into strategic hills that overlook the the Lebanese city of Nabatieh.
“Again, under the cover of the ceasefire, the enemy last night carried out an infiltration attempt towards the Ali Taher hills,” the group said in a statement released on Saturday.
The Iran-backed Islamist faction said it engaged the Israeli troops.
Hezbollah restated its commitment to the ceasefire, but warned “it will not be lenient in confronting any enemy attempt…. to expand its occupation.”
Lebanese civil defense says 16 killed in Israeli airstrikes on Nabatieh
The death toll in Lebanon kept mounting on Saturday, with the country’s civil defense agency reporting that16 people have been killed in the ongoing Israeli strikes on the Nabatieh district.
According to the agency, rescuers have been working “since the early morning hours” and 12 more wounded people were transported to the hospital.
The escalation comes after Israel and Hezbollah reportedly agreed to a ceasefire that was scheduled to go into effect on Friday afternoon.
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/iran-says-its-closing-strait-of-hormuz-again/live-77634368