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File photo President Trump signs the Iran MOU on Wednesday in France- image from White House video<\/p>\nFile photo President Trump signs the Iran MOU on Wednesday in France- image from White House video<\/p>\n
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 Iran dealt two quick blows to the\u00a0interim agreement with the United States<\/a>\u00a0on Saturday, angered by Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon, saying it had closed the Strait of Hormuz again and announcing that while its negotiators are going to Switzerland for talks, not much is likely to happen there.<\/p>\n First, Iran\u2019s joint military command said the strait had been closed, citing Israeli attacks and U.S. \u201cbad faith\u201d and \u201cits clear breach of its commitments\u201d by failing to end the war.<\/p>\n The statement on state television warned that \u201cif the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned.\u201d<\/p>\n Minutes later, the state broadcaster said the country\u2019s negotiating team was heading to Switzerland, a trip that was originally planned for Friday but was canceled.<\/p>\n Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagahei, Bagahei, however, signaled that little might happen until Iran feels the U.S. is living up to the deal.<\/p>\n \u201cThis trip is therefore about demanding that the other side fulfill its obligations,\u201d he said, adding that negotiations toward a final agreement will begin only once key commitments, including an end to fighting in Lebanon, are upheld.<\/p>\n \u201cIf any part of these understandings, any part of these commitments, is not implemented, then the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized,\u201d Bagahei said.<\/p>\n Ships had begun transiting the strait after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week.<\/p>\n \u00a0Key mediator Pakistan says technical-level talks between Iran and the United States on their interim deal will begin on Sunday in B\u00fcrgenstock, Switzerland, with Qatari mediators also participating.<\/p>\n In Washington, Vice President JD Vance confirmed on Saturday that the top U.S. negotiators \u2014 Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff \u2014 were already in Switzerland and have been working through technical details of the negotiations on Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n Vance told Fox News that he expects to leave for Switzerland \u201csometime the next couple of days\u201d but acknowledged that \u201cit\u2019s always a delicate coordination dance.\u201d<\/p>\n Israeli attacks in Lebanon kill at least 16<\/p>\n Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people, including two children, hours after reports emerged of a ceasefire agreement. The persistent fighting threatened an\u00a0interim agreement between the United States and Iran<\/a>\u00a0to end the\u00a0war in the Middle East<\/a>.<\/p>\n Seven people remained trapped under the rubble after the strikes hit the southern town of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages, Lebanon\u2019s National News Agency said.<\/p>\n Mediators were scrambling to halt the fighting between Israel and the militant Lebanese Hezbollah group, after a heavy exchange on Friday killed at least 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers.<\/p>\n An Israeli military official said Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting the military to start targeting the militant group there. The official spoke anonymously in line with regulations. The army said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets and militants in southern Lebanon, including rocket-launching positions and Hezbollah command centers.<\/p>\n On Friday, Israeli ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, said on X that Israel \u201cremains firmly committed to an immediate ceasefire\u201d if Hezbollah honors the agreement and ceases hostilities.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Hezbollah said it had committed to the ceasefire but blamed Israel for violating it several times on Friday night. A statement issued by the group’s military wing said it would abide by the ceasefire but would also repel attacks by Israeli troops.<\/p>\n A conflict that could sink the US-Iran deal<\/p>\n Hezbollah and Israel went to war just days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah\u00a0firing rockets and drones<\/a>\u00a0at northern Israel and Israel\u00a0seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon<\/a>.<\/p>\n The\u00a0interim U.S.-Iran agreement<\/a>\u00a0signed this week has already reopened the\u00a0Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, which Iran had closed as the war unfolded \u2014 cutting off the global economy from significant supplies of oil and natural gas. The deal also envisages the relaunch of talks on Iran\u2019s nuclear program, a core issue in the war.<\/p>\n Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal, which calls for a halt to military operations in Lebanon and for the country’s sovereignty to be respected. With the fighting continuing, the accord is under threat and\u00a0U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland<\/a>, planned to start Friday, have been delayed, with no new date announced.<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister\u00a0Benjamin Netanyahu<\/a>\u00a0has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon, which Iran says is also a condition of the deal.<\/p>\n