With the Middle East conflict again threatening to spill into global markets, a fresh round of negotiations is set to get under way in Switzerland as Iran’s team arrived hours before US Vice President JD Vance — even as Tehran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz again in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
Speaking to reporters before departing for Europe, Mr Vance said he wanted the talks to deliver movement on two fronts.
He said he hoped to “make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue”.
“Those are the two big things that I think we’re going to be focused on,” he said.
Diplomats had been due to meet for follow-up discussions in Switzerland on Friday, but those plans were scrapped at the last moment after Israel launched deadly strikes in Lebanon following the deaths of four of its soldiers in combat.
Washington later announced a renewed ceasefire on Friday — a requirement tied to its preliminary agreement with Iran — yet clashes resumed yesterday between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters, with both sides trading accusations of truce violations.
Pointing to what it called a US “breach of contract” and “the Zionist regime’s continuous and relentless violation of the ceasefire in southern Lebanon”, Iran’s central military command declared that “the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to vessel traffic”.
The Strait of Hormuz is a vital corridor for oil and gas shipments, and Iran’s earlier blockade during much of the war jolted energy markets worldwide.
Under the preliminary accord signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Iran had agreed to reopen the passage, and shipping had started to rebound.
US Vice President JD Vance left Washington to join the talks
After Iran’s latest announcement, US Central Command said safe passage through the international waterway had “remained intact” and that American forces were “present and vigilant”.
President Trump later warned that if negotiators failed to finalize an agreement, Washington could move to impose its own tolls on the waterway.
There would be no tolls “unless they are imposed by and for the United States of America”, Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
An Iranian delegation arrived in Switzerland last night, according to state media and the Swiss foreign ministry.
Iran’s official broadcaster said the delegation included parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the delegation would “demand implementation of the other party’s commitments” under the deal.
“Otherwise, the entire understanding will be in trouble,” he said, according to official news agency IRNA.
Mr Vance arrived in Switzerland this morning after left Washington last night to join the talks.
The US vice president said he could only stay “a day or two”.
US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already on the ground, working through “some of the technical elements” and reporting back that “things are going well”, Mr Vance said in a Fox News interview yesterday.
Pakistan, acting as mediator — with its interior minister reportedly in Iran yesterday meeting officials — said “technical-level talks” are set for today in Burgenstock, Switzerland, bringing together Pakistani and Qatari mediators alongside US and Iranian representatives.
Israel and Hezbollah have continued to trade accusations as fighting persisted in southern Lebanon
The Switzerland meetings are intended to launch a two-month negotiating window to resolve issues left open by the initial accord, including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Meanwhile, Israel and Hezbollah continued to accuse one another as violence persisted in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli military said one soldier was killed in combat, marking the fifth such death since the US-Iran deal was reached.
Later, an Israeli army official said the military had been instructed by the country’s political leadership to cease fire, adding that troops were “not conducting proactive strikes” and were instead operating defensively inside a security zone.
Earlier, an Israeli military official said new attacks were under way after Hezbollah “launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon” overnight.
Hezbollah, for its part, said Israel had carried out “under the cover of the ceasefire … an infiltration attempt towards the Ali Taher hills”, a strategic height overlooking Nabatieh.
The group said its fighters responded “with appropriate weapons”.
Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on about 20 locations, and authorities counted more than 30 dead.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the overall death toll from the fighting had surpassed 4,000.
Hezbollah politician Hassan Fadlallah said the group retained “the full right to confront this enemy when it attacks us”.
Israel’s US ambassador Yechiel Leiter insisted Hezbollah had breached the ceasefire, saying Israel was “defending itself against terrorist attacks”.
Hezbollah said Israel bore “full responsibility”.
Fadi Zayat, who fled the southern Lebanon town of Tayr Debba, told AFP that “fear dominates” the south.
“We returned to the village a few days ago, but our bags are ready to flee again,” the 53-year-old said.
Hezbollah drew Lebanon deeper into the broader Middle East war in early March when it fired rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes.
An earlier ceasefire slated to take effect in Lebanon in April was never observed, with each side defending its continued attacks by citing alleged violations by the other.
