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 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 Bürgenstock, 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 U.S. “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 going to Switzerland, a trip that had been originally planned for Friday. State media said the team includes parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and central bank and oil officials, among others.
There was no immediate U.S. comment.
Iran’s team departs for talks as uncertainty grows
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagahei, however, signaled that little might happen until Iran feels the U.S. 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 jeopardized.”
In Washington, Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the top U.S. 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.”
As part of efforts to revive the direct talks, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met Mr. Araghchi in Tehran earlier Saturday, according to officials in Islamabad who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Meanwhile, the global economy braced for more uncertainty.
Shortly after Iran’s announcement, which it did not address, the U.S. military said commercial ship traffic continued through the strait on Saturday, with 55 merchant ships transiting, “moving large amounts of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to global markets.”
It was not clear when in the day they had transited.
Ships began transiting after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week, a milestone that has left plenty of questions unanswered.
Israeli attacks in Lebanon kill at least 16
In Lebanon, an official with Hezbollah told The Associated Press that Iran has informed the militant group 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 spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
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 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.
Mediators were scrambling to halt the fighting after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.
An Israeli military official, speaking anonymously in line with regulations, said Hezbollah had 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, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, said Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases hostilities.
On Saturday, Hezbollah said it had committed to the ceasefire but blamed Israel for violating it several times Friday night. A statement by the group’s military wing said it would abide by the ceasefire but would also repel attacks by Israeli troops.
The conflict could sink the US-Iran deal
A new round of U.S.-backed talks between the Lebanese government and Israel is expected to take place in Washington next week.
Hezbollah and Israel went to war two days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon.
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal, which calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and for the country’s sovereignty to be respected.
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.
Fighting continues near the Israel-Lebanon border
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, and 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.
Smoke rose into the sky over southern Lebanon and Israeli jets flew low over the coastal city of Tyre. Residents told The Associated Press they were relieved that Tyre had been spared in recent days, but now they were reminded that the war is not over.
“Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire,” said one resident, Hussein Khoshman.
Mr. Netanyahu’s office did not immediately comment on ceasefire efforts.
Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Israeli forces were operating in a “forward defense zone” and would continue doing so.
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This story was reported by The Associated Press. Mroue reported from Beirut and Munir from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Seung Min Kim in Washington, and Jamey Keaten in Zurich, Switzerland, contributed to this report.