Although the US and Iran had agreed to a 60-day ceasefire while negotiations take place, Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday declared the Strait of Hormuz shut, though the US military said commercial vessels had continued operating in the waterway.
Those developments could complicate talks in which both sides want to advance an interim deal brokered by Pakistan and signed on Wednesday by Presidents Donald Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian to end the almost four-month conflict.
Pointing to what it called Israeli "crimes" in Lebanon that violated US commitments to a ceasefire, the Revolutionary Guards warned ships would be at risk if they approached the Strait, a vital conduit for global oil and gas supplies. But US Central Command said 55 merchant ships transited the strait on Saturday with more than 17 million barrels of oil bound for global markets.
US forces will ensure commercial traffic continues, Central Command said.
Trump said no toll would be charged for passage through the strait during or after the 60-day ceasefire — unless the US imposes one should peace talks fail. In a social media post, he cited the possibility of a toll levied by the US "for services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East" if a peace deal is not completed.
The Iranian delegation is led by chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and includes Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as well as senior security, central bank and oil officials, Iranian media said. In addition to Vance, the US negotiating team includes envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran would press in Switzerland for fulfilment of commitments, citing past failures by the other side to honour agreements.
