Iran's main military command Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, citing a U.S. "breach" of the newly-signed peace memorandum of understanding (MoU) and Israel's ceasefire "violations" in southern Lebanon, Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei was quoted by Mehr as saying that a Iranian negotiating team will leave Tehran for Switzerland in a few minutes, for expected technical level talks with U.S. negotiators.
According to a report by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, the team will demand the fulfillment of U.S. commitments, including forcing Israel to stop its attacks on Lebanon.
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Saturday. Pakistan has been mediating diplomatic contacts between Iran and the U.S., along with Qatar.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance said in a media interview on Saturday that talks with Iran could begin as early as Sunday, and negotiations are going smoothly, adding that he may travel to Switzerland in the coming days.
Vance also said the U.S. had seen no evidence that Iran is closing the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier in the day, Lebanon's National News Agency reported that at least five people were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes and drone attacks across southern Lebanon late on Friday night and early on Saturday.
The Israeli military said in a statement issued on Saturday that Hezbollah had launched over 50 projectiles toward its soldiers in southern Lebanon throughout the night.
The developments came despite a ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel that took effect on Friday afternoon. The truce followed the signing of the MoU between the United States and Iran aiming to end conflict on all fronts, including Lebanon.
A senior U.S. official claimed on Friday that Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon had agreed to a ceasefire, which took effect at 16:00 local time on the day, according to several media report.
Iran closes Strait of Hormuz again citing US, Israeli 'violations' of peace MoU: media
