US-Iran peace deal news LIVE: Permanent ceasefire talks to begin in Switzerland; Tehran says Hormuz has closed again | Today’s news
Representatives of the United States and Iran were due to begin peace talks in Switzerland on Sunday, despite disagreements between Washington and Tehran over Iranian claims that the strategically important Strait of Hormuz has been closed.
According to Iranian state media, a high-ranking Iranian delegation has arrived in Switzerland for the talks, while US Vice President JD Vance has left Washington for the talks, which Pakistan says will begin on Sunday.
The two countries had previously agreed to a 60-day ceasefire during the negotiation period. But on Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed. U.S. military officials disputed that claim, saying commercial shipping continued to move through the waterway.
The development could complicate negotiations as both sides aim to move forward on an interim deal brokered by Pakistan and signed Wednesday by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to end the nearly four-month-old conflict between the two nations.
Citing what it described as Israel’s breach of commitments to a US-backed ceasefire in Lebanon, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that vessels approaching the Strait of Hormuz could face danger. The strait is one of the world’s most important routes for the transportation of oil and natural gas. However, the US Central Command announced that 55 commercial ships successfully sailed through the waterway on Saturday, transporting more than 17 million barrels of oil to international markets.
Central Command also said US forces would continue to protect the free movement of commercial shipping in the area.
Trump said in a social media post on Saturday that ships would not be charged a toll to pass through the Strait of Hormuz during or after the 60-day ceasefire period unless peace talks collapse and the United States decides to impose one.
Trump also suggested that the U.S. could impose a transit fee in the future as compensation for acting as a “watchdog” for Middle Eastern countries if a lasting peace deal is not reached.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, accused the United States on X of failing to comply with the first provision of the 14-point interim agreement between Washington and Tehran, which calls for a ceasefire in all areas of the conflict, including Lebanon.
He said that energy exports from the Middle East will continue to be disrupted as long as the agreement exists only on paper and is not fully implemented.
The ceasefire in Lebanon appeared to be increasingly unstable, with Israeli forces and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group continuing to exchange attacks.
