- Iran declared Strait of Hormuz blocked after ceasefire failed.
- Israel's attack on Lebanon defied US warnings, escalated tensions.
- US, Iran, Pakistan delegations head to Switzerland for talks.
New Delhi: The Pakistan-mediated Iran-US peace talks appear to have come full circle, with Tehran declaring the Strait of Hormuz blocked and the United States warning that it will make Iran pay the price. This came nearly 48 hours after both sides agreed to a ceasefire, but the agreement seems to fall flat after Israel defied US President Donald Trump’s warning. The Israeli Defence Forces carried out a massive attack on Lebanon, despite a ceasefire between the nations being in place.
What happened just now?
Pointing to what it called Israeli "crimes" in Lebanon that violated US commitments to a ceasefire, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) warned ships would be at risk if they approached the Strait, a vital conduit for global oil and gas supplies. But US Central Command said 55 merchant ships transited the strait on Saturday with more than 17 million barrels of oil for global markets.
Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, accused the US on X of failing to implement the first clause of its 14-point interim deal with Iran, which includes a ceasefire "on all fronts," including Lebanon.
He said that, as long as the agreement was only on paper, the flow of Middle East energy would remain halted.
No clarity over Hormuz
Trump, in a social media post on Saturday, wrote that no toll will be charged for passage through the Strait during or after the 60-day ceasefire, unless the US imposes one, should peace talks fail.
It means the situation has returned to where it was three months ago, with Islamabad claiming to have achieved great success in negotiating the peace agreement.
Pak PM Sharif, Army Chief Munir leave for Switzerland for Iran-US talks
However, a high-level Iranian team arrived in Switzerland for peace talks with the US, Iranian state media reported, as US Vice President JD Vance departed Washington for meetings that Pakistan said will begin today.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and its Army Chief Asim Munir left for Switzerland early Sunday to participate in the technical-level talks between the US and Iran. As a follow-up to the signing of the Islamabad MoU, technical-level talks will be held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, on Sunday, according to the prime minister''s office.
"The prime minister, along with a high-level delegation, has departed from Islamabad for Switzerland," the PMO said in its statement issued after midnight.
It added that Prime Minister Sharif and Field Marshal Munir will participate in these talks.
Vance had skipped first round of talks
Vance was initially supposed to hold a first round of talks with senior Iranian officials on Friday at a mountainside resort in the tiny Swiss village of Obburgen, but his Iranian counterparts cancelled their plans to attend because of escalating fighting between Israel and Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
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But negotiators for the US and Qatar, with help from Iran, worked out an agreement between Israel and Hezbollah to tamp down the active hostilities, according to US and regional officials who were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
(With inputs from agencies)