TYRE (LEBANON), JUN 20 (AP): Iran dealt two quick blows to the interim agreement with the United States on Saturday, angered by Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon, saying it had closed the Strait of Hormuz and also announcing that while its negotiators were going to Switzerland for talks, not much is likely to happen there.
Key mediator Pakistan, meanwhile, said technical-level talks will begin on Sunday in Bürgenstock, Switzerland, with Qatari mediators also participating.
In Tehran’s first salvo, Iran’s joint military command said the strait had been closed, citing the Israeli attacks and US “bad faith” and “clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war. Its statement on state television warned that “if the aggression continues, subsequent steps have been planned.”
Shortly after that, state broadcaster announced that Iran’s negotiating team was heading to Switzerland “in the coming minutes,” a trip that had been originally planned for Friday.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Bagahei, however, signalled that little might happen until Iran feels the US is living up to the deal. In Washington, Vice President JD Vance confirmed on Saturday that the top US negotiators — Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff — were already in Switzerland and have been working through technical details of the anticipated negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
Vance told Fox News that he expects to leave for Switzerland “sometime the next couple of days” but acknowledged that “it’s always a delicate coordination dance.”
Sunday, June 21, 2026