The naval force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) warned vessels not to approach the waterway, “otherwise, their security will be jeopardised”.
Tehran had agreed to reopen it under the preliminary accord signed this week by US President Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart President Masoud Pezeshkian, and shipping traffic had started to pick back up in recent days.
The US military’s Central Command said after the announcement that its “forces remain present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to”.
An Iranian delegation left for Switzerland yesterday afternoon, state media reported, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei saying they would “demand implementation of the other party’s commitments” under the deal as soon as possible – “otherwise, the entire understanding will be in trouble”.
After postponing a planned trip the day before, US Vice-President JD Vance told Fox News that he too expected to travel to Switzerland for talks in “the next couple of days, but you know it’s always a delicate co-ordination dance”.
US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already in Switzerland handling “some of the technical elements” and had reported that “things are going well”, Vance added, just moments before the Iranian announcement about the Hormuz strait.
Mediator Pakistan – whose Interior Minister was reportedly in Iran on for meetings with officials – said “technical-level talks” were scheduled for Sunday local time.
The Swiss talks are meant to kick off a two-month period of negotiations to discuss outstanding issues not covered by the initial deal, notably Iran’s nuclear programme.
Switzerland’s Foreign Ministry confirmed unnamed foreign envoys there were “continuing their efforts to maintain the dialogue” but declined to offer further details.
Following Israel’s heavy strikes in Lebanon – which killed 83 people, according to health authorities – a US official announced a new ceasefire brokered by US and Qatari mediators.
But hours later an Israeli military official said forces were conducting fresh attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah, accusing it of having “launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon” overnight.
Hezbollah in turn accused Israel of having carried out “under the cover of the ceasefire … an infiltration attempt towards the Ali Taher hills”, a strategic feature overlooking the city of Nabatieh.
Lebanese state media reported Israeli air raids on around 20 locations on Saturday local time, with the country’s civil defence agency saying 16 people were killed in the Nabatieh area.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said seven more people were killed and 13 wounded in a strike on a village near Sidon and reported that the overall death toll from the fighting had surpassed 4000.
Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said that his group retained “the full right to confront this enemy when it attacks us”.
– AFP