Diplomatic teams from the United States and Iran convened in Switzerland on Sunday for peace negotiations, even as a dispute erupted over whether Iran had shut down one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes.
An Iranian delegation arrived in Switzerland for the talks, according to Iranian state media, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance departed Washington for the meetings, which Pakistan said would get underway Sunday. The two countries had previously agreed to a 60-day ceasefire while negotiations proceed.
Despite that agreement, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared the Strait of Hormuz closed on Saturday. However, U.S. military officials pushed back on that claim, saying commercial vessels had continued moving through the waterway without disruption. U.S. Central Command reported that 55 merchant ships passed through the strait on Saturday, carrying more than 17 million barrels of oil destined for global markets. American forces will work to keep commercial traffic flowing, Central Command added.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical passage for the world’s oil and gas supplies, and any disruption there could have far-reaching economic consequences.
President Donald Trump addressed the situation in a social media post Saturday, stating that no toll would be charged for passage through the Strait during or after the 60-day ceasefire period — though he left open the possibility of imposing one if peace talks ultimately fall apart. He described such a potential toll as payment “for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.”
Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, took to social media to accuse the U.S. of failing to follow through on the first clause of a 14-point interim agreement between the two nations. That clause calls for a ceasefire “on all fronts,” including Lebanon. Mokhber stated that as long as the deal existed only on paper, the flow of energy from the Middle East would remain halted.
The interim deal was brokered by Pakistan and signed Wednesday by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, with the goal of ending a conflict between the two nations that has lasted nearly four months.
Complicating matters further, the Lebanon ceasefire appeared shaky. Lebanese Civil Defence reported that 20 people were killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Saturday, just hours after a truce there took effect. Israel said it was responding to attacks from Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, while Hezbollah said it would not allow Israel “freedom of movement” in Lebanon. Lebanon’s state news agency reported that Israeli warplanes and drones struck locations across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley on Saturday. An Israeli military official said Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces overnight.
The IRGC pointed to what it called Israeli “crimes” in Lebanon — which it said violated U.S. ceasefire commitments — as justification for warning ships that they would be at risk near the Strait.
Israel, which is not part of the U.S.-Iran negotiations, has stated it is not bound by the deal and will keep its forces in Lebanese territory it currently occupies. Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported that the country’s prime minister and defense minister instructed the military to hold fire in Lebanon, though Israel would not pull back from areas it has captured.
A poll conducted by Israel’s Hebrew University and shared exclusively with Reuters found that about 92% of Israelis believe Iran benefited more from the joint Israeli-U.S. military campaign than Israel did. Only around 8% of Israelis felt their country came out victorious. Nearly 90% said the war’s goals were not achieved, and more than 70% said they do not believe claims of major achievements made by the Israeli prime minister.
Lebanon’s health ministry reports that 4,057 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2, including medics, women, and children, though it does not specify how many were combatants. Israeli authorities say at least 32 soldiers and four civilians have been killed in fighting with Hezbollah.
On the U.S. side, the negotiating team includes Vice President Vance along with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law. The Iranian delegation is led by chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and also includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, along with senior officials from security, the central bank, and the oil sector.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran would use the Switzerland talks to push for the fulfillment of commitments, pointing to what he described as past failures by the other side to honor agreements.
Vance, speaking in a Fox News interview, expressed confidence that the ceasefire would hold and said he had seen no evidence that the Strait of Hormuz was actually closed. He departed for Switzerland shortly after 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, telling reporters before boarding a plane at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland that negotiations would likely last “a couple days.”
“I think we’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue,” Vance said.
