Vance Arrives in Switzerland for Iran Peace Talks with Hormuz in Spotlight

US Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Switzerland to engage in peace talks with Iran, seeking a lasting end to their nearly four-month war.

The negotiations are complicated by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps' declaration that it had closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for global oil and gas supplies. However, the US military maintains that commercial vessels continue to operate through the strait.

Both nations are working towards an interim deal brokered by Pakistan and signed by Presidents Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian. This agreement aims to establish a 60-day ceasefire while negotiations proceed. Despite this, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned ships of risk if they approach the strait, citing alleged Israeli "crimes" in Lebanon that violate ceasefire commitments.

US Central Command confirmed that 55 merchant ships transited the strait on Saturday, carrying over 17 million barrels of oil. President Trump has stated that no toll will be charged for passage during or after the ceasefire, unless the US imposes one if talks fail, citing potential "services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East."

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader, accused the US of failing to implement the first clause of the interim deal, which includes a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon. He argued that Middle East energy flow would remain halted as long as the agreement is only on paper. The Iranian delegation, led by chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, includes the foreign minister and senior officials. The US team includes envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir are also expected to attend.

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I was confident the ceasefire would hold, and that I had seen no evidence that the Strait of Hormuz was closed.