Iran said Saturday it had again closed the Strait of Hormuz and that talks in Switzerland were unlikely to progress, dealing twin blows to its interim agreement with the United States.
Iran acted out of anger over Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon, the Associated Press reported.
Iran’s joint military command announced the closure, blaming Israeli strikes and what it called U.S. “bad faith” in failing to end the war.
A statement read on state television warned that further steps had been planned if the attacks continued.
Minutes later, the state broadcaster said Iran’s negotiating team was traveling to Switzerland, reviving a trip that had been called off Friday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei lowered expectations, saying progress hinged on Washington honoring the deal.
The visit, he said, was meant to press the other side to meet its obligations, and talks on a final agreement would begin only after key commitments — including an end to the fighting in Lebanon — were upheld.
Baghaei said the broader memorandum of understanding would be jeopardized if any part of those commitments went unfulfilled.
Ships had resumed passing through the strait after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill at least 16
Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people Saturday, among them two children, hours after reports of a ceasefire agreement emerged.
Seven people remained trapped under rubble after the strikes hit the town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Mediators were trying to halt the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah after a heavy exchange Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.
An Israeli military official, speaking anonymously under military rules, said Hezbollah had launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting Israel to strike back.
The army said it hit dozens of Hezbollah targets and fighters there, including rocket-launching sites and command centers.
Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah honored the agreement and stopped its attacks. — Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to Washington
Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, wrote Friday on X that Israel “remains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire” if Hezbollah honored the agreement and stopped its attacks.
Hezbollah said Saturday it had kept to the ceasefire but accused Israel of breaking it repeatedly Friday night. The group’s military wing said it would observe the truce while still repelling Israeli attacks.
A conflict that could sink the US-Iran deal
Israel and Hezbollah went to war days after the United States and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones into northern Israel and Israeli forces seizing large areas of southern Lebanon.
The interim agreement signed this week had already reopened the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran shut during the war, choking off major oil and natural gas supplies to the global economy. The deal also foresees a restart of talks on Iran’s nuclear program, a central issue in the conflict.
Neither Israel nor Hezbollah signed the agreement, which calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and respect for the country’s sovereignty. With the fighting unresolved, the accord is at risk, and the talks in Switzerland set for Friday were pushed back without a new date.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to keep Israeli troops in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is removed. Hezbollah has refused to stop its attacks unless Israel agrees to withdraw, a step Iran says the deal also requires.
A new round of U.S.-backed talks between the Lebanese government and Israel is expected next week in Washington.
Editor’s note: This article is based on reporting by the Associated Press.
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