Negotiators from the United States and Iran arrived in Switzerland to begin discussions intended to solidify an interim agreement and uphold a 60-day ceasefire, even as competing accounts emerged over the status of the Strait of Hormuz and fighting persisted in Lebanon.
Iranian state media reported that a senior Iranian delegation had reached Switzerland to engage in peace talks with U.S. counterparts. The Iranian team was led by chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and included Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi plus senior officials responsible for security, central banking and oil matters.
On the U.S. side, Vice President JD Vance departed Washington for Switzerland shortly after 4 p.m. ET (2100 GMT) on Saturday to join the talks. The U.S. negotiating team also included envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, according to information provided about the delegation. Pakistani officials said the meetings would begin on Sunday.
Both sides had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire while negotiations proceed under an interim deal brokered by Pakistan and signed by U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier in the week. The ceasefire and the broader 14-point interim agreement were intended to halt active hostilities and create space for diplomatic progress.
Despite that framework, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday publicly declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. The IRGC cited what it called Israeli "crimes" in Lebanon and said those actions breached U.S. commitments to the ceasefire. The IRGC warned that ships approaching the strait would face risk unless violations ceased.
U.S. officials, however, disputed that characterization. U.S. Central Command reported that commercial navigation was continuing and that 55 merchant vessels transited the strait on Saturday carrying more than 17 million barrels of oil destined for global markets. Central Command added that U.S. forces would ensure commercial traffic remains uninterrupted.
President Trump posted on social media on Saturday that no toll would be charged for passage through the Strait during or after the 60-day ceasefire - unless the United States opts to impose one should the peace talks fail. The post left open the possibility that the United States could levy a charge later, describing such a toll as payment "for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East" if talks do not produce an agreement.
Against this backdrop, Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, accused the United States on X of failing to implement the first clause of the interim 14-point deal, which includes a ceasefire "on all fronts," explicitly mentioning Lebanon. Mokhber said that while the agreement remained only on paper, the flow of energy from the Middle East would remain halted.
Officials and observers cautioned that the IRGC warning and the dispute over Hormuz could complicate sensitive diplomatic discussions that are intended to advance an interim settlement and broader issues including Tehran's nuclear program.
U.S. Vice President Vance told reporters before boarding his plane that he was confident the ceasefire would hold and said he had seen no evidence that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed. He expected negotiators to spend "a couple days of talks" in Switzerland and expressed hope for progress on both the nuclear issue and securing a halt to hostilities in Lebanon.
A cessation of fighting in Lebanon was one of the conditions for starting U.S.-Iran talks on the nuclear file and other outstanding matters. Yet the Lebanon truce exhibited fragility on Saturday. Lebanon's Civil Defence reported that 20 people were killed by Israeli strikes on Saturday, hours after the truce had taken effect. Israel said its strikes were in response to attacks from Hezbollah, while Hezbollah stated it would not allow Israel "freedom of movement" in Lebanon.
Israel is not party to the Iran-U.S. interim deal and has said it will maintain forces in areas of Lebanon it occupies. The Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported that the prime minister and defense minister instructed the military to hold fire in Lebanon but that the military would not withdraw from territories it had captured.
Polling data shared with Reuters from the Hebrew University in Israel indicated widespread public skepticism about the recent military campaign. The poll found some 92% of Israelis believe Iran benefited more from the joint Israeli-U.S. campaign than Israel, and only some 8% think Israel emerged victorious. Nearly 90% said the war's stated goals were not met and more than 70% did not accept claims by Prime Minister Netanyahu that major achievements had been realized.
Military exchanges along the Israel-Lebanon front continued to be reported. Lebanon's state news agency NNA said that Israeli warplanes and drones struck locations across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, areas described as Hezbollah strongholds. An Israeli military official said Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, and that Israel struck what it identified as Hezbollah targets in response.
Israel's military issued a statement saying it remained committed to the ceasefire but would continue to act against any threats to Israeli forces or to Israel itself. Casualty figures tied to the cross-border fighting and the wider conflict were also reported by the parties involved. Lebanon's health ministry put the number of people killed in Israeli attacks since March 2 at 4,057, including medics, women and children, without specifying how many of those killed were combatants. Israeli authorities said at least 32 soldiers and four civilians had been killed in fighting with Hezbollah.
Iranian officials said they would press in Switzerland for fulfillment of commitments under the interim arrangement, citing past failures they say the other side has had in honoring agreements. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei emphasized that Tehran would insist on concrete steps rather than mere assurances on paper.
The diplomatic effort in Switzerland seeks to translate the Pakistan-brokered interim understanding and the 60-day ceasefire into enforceable measures and reciprocal actions on key points such as the Lebanon ceasefire and nuclear-related matters. But the competing narratives over Hormuz, the IRGC warning, and continuing violence in Lebanon underscore the fragile conditions in which the talks will take place.
U.S. officials reiterated their position that they would act to keep commercial shipping lines open and that they had observed significant merchant traffic in the Strait of Hormuz even as Iranian authorities claimed the waterway was closed. Negotiators from both countries face the immediate task of bridging trust gaps while the military and political situation in and around Lebanon continues to evolve, potentially affecting prospects for a durable truce.
Summary
U.S. and Iranian delegations convened in Switzerland to pursue an interim agreement and a 60-day ceasefire, while Iran's IRGC declared the Strait of Hormuz closed and U.S. commanders reported continued commercial transit. The fragile truce in Lebanon, marked by deadly strikes and cross-border exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, adds complexity to the negotiations.
Key points
- Diplomatic talks commence in Switzerland between U.S. and Iranian delegations under a 60-day ceasefire aimed at an interim deal; the Iranian delegation included senior political and economic officials and was led by Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf.
- Iran's IRGC declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, citing violations in Lebanon, but U.S. Central Command reported 55 merchant ships transited the strait carrying over 17 million barrels of oil and pledged to protect commercial shipping.
- Continued military exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah, and high casualty reports in Lebanon, threaten the stability of the ceasefire and complicate negotiations; Israeli public sentiment appears skeptical about gains from recent operations.
Risks and uncertainties
- Maritime risk - A declared closure of the Strait of Hormuz by the IRGC, even if disputed, raises the prospect of disruptions to oil and gas shipments and could affect energy markets and shipping insurance and logistics sectors.
- Ceasefire fragility - Renewed strikes and artillery exchanges in Lebanon, along with high casualty counts, create uncertainty about the durability of the 60-day ceasefire and could derail progress in diplomatic talks, affecting defense and regional security dynamics.
- Implementation gap - Accusations by Iranian officials that the United States has not fulfilled clauses of the interim 14-point deal point to a risk that commitments will remain unimplemented or contested, complicating efforts to convert paper agreements into on-the-ground measures that reassure markets and regional actors.
Disclosure
No disclosures.