Iran’s military command blamed the U.S., saying it failed to prevent Israel from violating the cease-fire in Lebanon. Mediators in Pakistan said “technical talks” between the U.S. and Iran to end the war would be held on Sunday. Share full articleImageCargo vessels anchored off Muscat, Oman, on Saturday.Credit...Elke Scholiers/Getty Images See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Latest PinnedUpdated June 20, 2026, 10:47 a.m. ETAbdi Latif Dahir and Julian Barnes Here’s the latest.Iran’s military said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz had been closed to maritime traffic, citing what it called a “clear breach” of U.S. commitments to implement a preliminary deal to end the war, according to a statement carried by state media. The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, a central military command, cited the killing and the displacement of Lebanese residents from southern Lebanon, along with Israel’s refusal to withdraw from the region, as factors for closing the strait. The deal between the United States and Iran stipulated an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. The announcement on the strait of came as delayed talks between the United States and Iran appeared ready to restart. Pakistan, which has served as an intermediary in negotiations to end the war, said in a statement that “technical talks” between Washington and Tehran would begin Sunday in Switzerland. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News earlier on Saturday that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who serve as envoys for President Trump, were in Switzerland and ready to negotiate, and a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry said that an Iranian delegation was on its way. The United States has not yet commented on the Iranian military statement on the strait. There had been an uptick in the number of ships passing through the waterway in recent days, after a deal between the United States and Iran was announced. Iran had closed the strait, a vital waterway for oil and gas shipping, in the early days of the war, rattling the global economy. Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah exchanged fire on Saturday, just a day after a cease-fire had raised hopes of easing their conflict and smoothing a path toward an end to the U.S.-Iran war. The truce, agreed to on Friday afternoon, had appeared to largely hold, but early Saturday, Lebanese state media reported Israeli airstrikes on towns and cities in southern Lebanon. Lebanese health authorities said that at least seven people had been killed and 13 others wounded in the strikes. The Israeli military said that Hezbollah had fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight, prompting Israeli strikes on what the military described as Hezbollah targets in the region. In a statement on Saturday, Hezbollah said that it was adhering to the cease-fire, but accused Israel of attempting to advance overnight toward Ali al-Taher, a strategic ridge overlooking the Nabatieh area in southern Lebanon and said its fighters had ambushed an Israeli infantry force. The conflict in Lebanon, once seen as a secondary front to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, has become one of the main obstacles to ending it. The United States and Iran agreed to a preliminary deal earlier this week, which stipulated an end to the fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon, and set the stage for more negotiations that had been set to begin Friday in Switzerland. Iran pulled out of those talks after Israeli strikes in Lebanon, three diplomats said on Friday. Vice President JD Vance was expected to be part of the talks in Switzerland but the White House said late Thursday that his visit had been postponed. Switzerland’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that it was continuing to provide a “discreet and reliable setting” for the talks, adding, without naming them, that diplomats from several countries remained engaged in efforts to keep the dialogue going. Lebanon strikes: The diplomatic breakdown on Friday was the second time in recent weeks that the conflict in Lebanon has upended talks between the United States and Iran. Supreme leader: Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, distanced himself from the agreement with the United States. Economic repercussions: If the deal holds, billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets could be released. Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement that technical-level talks would be held in Switzerland on Sunday. Representatives from the United States and Iran, as well as mediators from Pakistan and Qatar will attend, according to a statement. The statement was released after Iran’s military command said it had closed the Strait of Hormuz and as Pakistan’s interior minister met with Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, in Tehran. The naval arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said that if ships approached the Strait of Hormuz, their security would be at risk. Earlier, the military command said the strait had been closed in response to what it described as Israel’s actions in Lebanon and the United States’ failure to uphold its commitments related to the cease-fire, according to a statement carried by state media. Iran’s negotiating team has now departed for Switzerland, according to the country’s state broadcaster. A day earlier, talks between the U.S. and Iran scheduled for Switzerland were postponed after Israel launched strikes in Lebanon. The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group, reached a grim milestone on Saturday when Lebanon’s health ministry announced that more than 4,000 people had been killed. The death toll is now roughly equal to that of the previous war, which ended in 2024 and was at the time the country’s bloodiest conflict in decades. Iran’s military command announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as Vice President JD Vance told Fox News the administration had accomplished its goal of opening the strait. “One of the things the president has set us out to do as a high priority is to open the strait. That’s now happened,” Vance said, adding that millions of barrels of oil were moved through the vital waterway yesterday. “That suggests that the straits really are open,” he said. Iran’s military command said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz was closed to maritime traffic. It said the U.S. had committed a “clear breach” of the commitment to implement a preliminary deal to end the war by failing to prevent Israel from violating the cease-fire in Lebanon, according to a statement carried by state media. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Saturday morning that the Pakistanis and Qataris were also expected to arrive in Switzerland for the talks and that he still expected “to leave in the next couple of days” for Switzerland. He cautioned that “it’s always a delicate coordination dance.” “The Qataris and the Pakistanis want to make sure we do this in the right way, so I’m trying to be respectful,” said Vance, who delayed his trip to Switzerland late Thursday night. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner had been in Switzerland for a couple of hours dealing “with some of the technical elements of this negotiation” with Iran. Talks had been scheduled for Friday in Switzerland before being delayed. Vance said Kushner and Witkoff reported back to him that “things are going well.” In Switzerland, which had been scheduled to host the next phase of U.S.-Iran negotiations on Friday, diplomats from “various countries” were continuing efforts on Saturday to advance talks on implementing the U.S.-Iran deal, the Swiss Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry declined to identify those present or describe the discussions, leaving unclear whether U.S. and Iranian officials were there and meeting directly. Friday’s scheduled talks were delayed as renewed fighting in Lebanon threatened the agreement. Shipping remains far below prewar levels in the Strait of Hormuz.ImageCargo vessels anchored off Muscat, Oman, on Saturday. Credit...Getty Images/Getty ImagesMore ships have been moving through the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Iran agreed to a preliminary deal this week that included provisions to reopen the waterway. But the traffic has been erratic and remains well below prewar levels. Shipping companies remain cautious about the strait, a critical waterway for the world’s oil and gas supplies. They also face practical problems after their ships have been sitting in the Persian Gulf for months. On Thursday, 25 ships moved through the strait, including 14 oil tankers, according to Kpler, a maritime data company. The number was higher than the average in recent weeks. On Friday, 11 ships transited the strait: seven oil tankers and four dry bulk vessels, according to Kpler. Before the war, roughly 130 vessels moved through the strait each day. The preliminary agreement between the United States and Iran introduced a 60-day period of negotiations and outlined steps to reopen the strait. It removed a U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ships that had been imposed in April. The U.S. military said on Thursday that the blockade was no longer in place.
Original Source: NYTimes
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