Iran Recloses Strait of Hormuz as U.S.-Iran 60-Day Talks Open in Switzerland
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Jun 21
Iran Recloses Strait of Hormuz as U.S.-Iran 60-Day Talks Open in Switzerland
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jun 21
Summary
Iran said Saturday it was shutting the Strait of Hormuz again and warned commercial vessels to stay away, even as U.S. and Iranian delegations assembled in Switzerland for talks due to start Sunday.
Tehran tied the move to alleged violations of the memorandum of understanding, chiefly Israel's refusal to withdraw from southern Lebanon and renewed Israeli-Hezbollah fighting that killed more than a dozen people overnight.
U.S. officials disputed Iran's claim of control over the waterway, with CENTCOM saying traffic was still flowing and 55 commercial vessels carrying more than 17 million barrels of oil transited Saturday.
JD Vance left for Switzerland after an earlier delay, while Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner, Qatari and Pakistani mediators, and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi were already involved in talks at the closed Bürgenstock resort.
The Switzerland agenda now includes an emergency Lebanon session alongside nuclear negotiations, marking a U.S. shift toward letting Iran fold the Israel-Hezbollah conflict into the 60-day peace process.