US disputes Iranian claims about closing Strait of Hormuz as negotiators head to Switzerland

Negotiators from the United States and Iran are scheduled to commence peace talks in Switzerland on Sunday, even as US officials challenge Iranian assertions of closing the vital Strait of Hormuz.

A high-level Iranian delegation has arrived in Switzerland for the discussions, which US Vice President JD Vance is also attending. Both nations had previously agreed to a 60-day ceasefire to facilitate these negotiations. However, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared the Strait of Hormuz shut on Saturday, a claim immediately disputed by the US military, which reported continued commercial vessel operations in the waterway.

“

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.

These developments could potentially complicate the ongoing talks, which are focused on advancing an interim deal brokered by Pakistan and signed by US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to end their nearly four-month conflict. The IRGC cited Israeli "crimes" in Lebanon as a violation of ceasefire commitments, warning of risks to ships approaching the Strait, a critical route for global oil and gas. Conversely, US Central Command stated that 55 merchant ships transited the strait on Saturday, carrying over 17 million barrels of oil, and affirmed that US forces would ensure continued commercial traffic.

US President Trump indicated on social media that no tolls would be charged for passage through the Strait during or after the ceasefire, unless the US imposes one if peace talks fail. Meanwhile, Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, accused the US of failing to implement the first clause of the interim deal, which includes a ceasefire "on all fronts." He suggested that the flow of Middle East energy would remain halted as long as the agreement remained only on paper. The Lebanon truce itself appeared fragile, with ongoing exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

“

as long as the agreement was only on paper, the flow of Middle East energy would remain halted.