Iran Says Hormuz 'Closed' Again, Citing Lebanon Violations, As Vance Expected In Switzerland For Talks
by Tyler Durden
Sunday, Jun 21, 2026 - 12:00 AM
Update(10:00ET): As has become the 'norm' after well over 100 days of war - which some pundits have been calling the "third Gulf war" - there are deeply conflicting headlines emerging Saturday. On the one hand, diplomacy based in Switzerland is said to be in motion, with a potential top level Trump delegation (led by Witkoff and to be joined later by Kushner reportedly/allegedly) - but fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in south Lebanon still rages, with the death toll climbing, and also with Hezbollah rockets still landing against IDF positions as well as in northern Israel.
Will the US and Iranian sides actually meet in Europe for the 'technical' side of further talks toward final peace? Saturday has seen reports of Iran having again 'closed' the Strait of Hormuz, citing Israeli aggression in Lebanon, after Tehran has insisted that the tenuous freshly signed MoU included a Lebanon ceasefire and peace. The latest newswires out of Iranian state media:
- IRAN SAYS HORMUZ TO CLOSE, CITING CEASEFIRE VIOLATION: TASNIM
- IRAN SAYS STRAIT OF HORMUZ HAS BEEN CLOSED: TASNIM
- IRAN'S IRGC NAVY SAYS HORMUZ STRAIT CLOSED TO ALL VESSELS: FARS
- *VESSELS WARNED TO AVOID STRAIT OF HORMUZ OVER SECURITY: FARS
Vance expected in Switzerland, reports Axios on Saturday:
Trump envoys arrive in Switzerland for Iran talks planned for Sunday. Vice President Vance could travel to Switzerland today or tomorrow. My story on @axios“In Switzerland, we intend to press for the fulfilment of the other side’s commitments and clarify how they plan to act on their obligations,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, according to Fars, also as cited in Al Jazeera.
Per the same report Saturday mid-morning (US time): "The delegation will leave for Switzerland in a few minutes, Mehr news agency also reported. The spokesperson also said that if the US refuses to implement its commitments, Iran will respond with necessary measures."
So things remain very fluid, and could implode at any moment. The Wall Street Journal adds some fresh details as follows:
Iranian security officials said they had closed the Strait of Hormuz, citing what they said was the U.S. failure to stop the fighting in Lebanon as required under the agreement signed earlier this week by President Trump.
The announcement by Iran’s joint military command came as clashes between Israel and Hezbollah flared again in Lebanon on Saturday, just hours after the two sides agreed to a renewed ceasefire. It undid for now the main achievement of the deal, which was to set the stage for reopening a waterway vital to world energy markets.
Even before Iran’s announcement, however, the recovery of traffic through the strait had been halting. Iran had imposed new procedures, including a demand that ships register to cross two days in advance, and wary shipowners were monitoring the still uncertain environment in the waterway.
* * *
Since the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding was signed days ago it's increasingly obvious there's been a widening split between Washington and it's closest Middle East ally Israel over the terms of the deal. The political interests between the Trump administration and Israel, which have been typically lock-step, have increasingly diverged on the question of the Iran peace and terms of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Ground zero for this divergence has remained south Lebanon, where the overnight the death toll from fighting - and especially from Israeli air raids - have risen.
Lebanon's civil defense agency has announced that Israeli attacks on the southern Nabatieh district have killed 16 people and wounded 12 others. The significant death toll comes a mere day after the latest Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire was announced.
Still, Al Jazeera is on Saturday confirming that "the wheels of diplomacy" appear to be "back in motion" after the delay to the technical talks from Friday. "Pakistan and Qatar – mediators – are holding a series of meetings in Switzerland, Iran and Egypt and according to Al Jazeera’s team on the ground," the publication writes. Top American negotiators are reportedly on the way to Europe.
via Reuters
Iran too is optimistic, while calling out certain Israeli hardliner politicians for seeking to sabotage peace. State media is hitting this theme hard, and naturally Tehran is going to seek to drive a deep and permanent wedge between the Trump and Netanyahu administrations.
Iran's deputy foreign minister has said the Islamic Republic is "ready to move forward" on diplomacy with Washington, and the big elephant in the room is that "the United States must ensure Israel abides by the terms of the deal to end the war" - according to Al Jazeera.
As a reminder, President Trump appears in the mood to play nice with Iran while bringing the (very rare) pressure on Netanyahu. However, Trump himself is facing immense rising pressure from outraged pro-US hawks at home:
Donald Trump told NBC News in a phone interview that he spoke with Israel on Friday and asked them to agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
“‘You just gotta calm down sometimes and use your head,’” Trump was quoted as telling Israel.
Trump declined to specify whether he spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu directly. A senior US official earlier confirmed the ceasefire to Reuters, though Israeli attacks continue across Lebanon.
One of the key elements of the MoU the hawks vehemently object to is the creation of a $300 billion reconstruction plan for Iran. But in terms of the main aspect which could derail ongoing negotiations altogether is that the US committed that it and its allies (read: Israel and the Lebanese government) will initiate the "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon." This is a major concession by the US to the Iranian side.
FOUR IDF soldiers killed after Hezbollah struck IDF tank in southern Lebanon
Including 52nd Battalion Commander who assumed command only days earlier after his predecessor was seriously wounded
Hours later, five more wounded, including SERIOUSLY, in drone strike in same area
But Israel has much more than these things to complain about, as it continues to lose troops in recent Hezbollah attacks:
Israel immediately responded to that agreement by pounding Lebanon, killing at least 47 people on Friday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. Four Israeli soldiers were also killed overnight [Friday] by the armed Lebanese group, Hezbollah, prompting Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to say that “all of Lebanon must burn”.
Vice President JD Vance's own recent remarks putting these Israeli officials in their place has been unprecedented spectacle to behold. The "special relationship" remains tenuous, at least in terms of weighing the current heated rhetoric and atmosphere.
But again, Israel can point to Hezbollah aggression, with Times of Israel (TOI) reporting the latest figures as follows:
The Israeli military says it is striking Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in response to overnight projectile launches at troops in south Lebanon by the Iran-backed terror group, despite a ceasefire announced a day earlier.
Consequences of an Israeli airstrike (3 bombs) on a building complex in Southern Lebanon
Multiple casualties.
"Overnight, the Hezbollah terrorist organization launched more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon. Following the attacks, the IDF has been striking Hezbollah terrorist targets in southern Lebanon," an Israeli military official said was cited in TOI as saying.
Meanwhile, CNN also confirms that diplomacy is in "motion", writing: "US envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling to Switzerland for technical talks with Iran, a US official said, with President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also expected to join. Meanwhile, mediator Pakistan’s interior minister has arrived in Iran for talks with senior Iranian officials as part of efforts to encourage them to Switzerland."
Iran too is optimistic, while calling out certain Israeli hardliner politicians for seeking to sabotage peace. State media is hitting this theme hard, and naturally Tehran is going to seek to drive a deep and permanent wedge between the Trump and Netanyahu administrations.
Iran's deputy foreign minister has said the Islamic Republic is "ready to move forward" on diplomacy with Washington, and the big elephant in the room is that "the United States must ensure Israel abides by the terms of the deal to end the war" - according to Al Jazeera.
As a reminder, President Trump appears in the mood to play nice with Iran while bringing the (very rare) pressure on Netanyahu. However, Trump himself is facing immense rising pressure from outraged pro-US hawks at home:
Donald Trump told NBC News in a phone interview that he spoke with Israel on Friday and asked them to agree to a ceasefire with Hezbollah.
“‘You just gotta calm down sometimes and use your head,’” Trump was quoted as telling Israel.
Trump declined to specify whether he spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu directly. A senior US official earlier confirmed the ceasefire to Reuters, though Israeli attacks continue across Lebanon.
One of the key elements of the MoU the hawks vehemently object to is the creation of a $300 billion reconstruction plan for Iran. But in terms of the main aspect which could derail ongoing negotiations altogether is that the US committed that it and its allies (read: Israel and the Lebanese government) will initiate the "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon." This is a major concession by the US to the Iranian side.
FOUR IDF soldiers killed after Hezbollah struck IDF tank in southern Lebanon
Including 52nd Battalion Commander who assumed command only days earlier after his predecessor was seriously wounded
Hours later, five more wounded, including SERIOUSLY, in drone strike in same area
Israel immediately responded to that agreement by pounding Lebanon, killing at least 47 people on Friday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health. Four Israeli soldiers were also killed overnight [Friday] by the armed Lebanese group, Hezbollah, prompting Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to say that “all of Lebanon must burn”.
Vice President JD Vance's own recent remarks putting these Israeli officials in their place has been unprecedented spectacle to behold. The "special relationship" remains tenuous, at least in terms of weighing the current heated rhetoric and atmosphere.
But again, Israel can point to Hezbollah aggression, with Times of Israel (TOI) reporting the latest figures as follows:
The Israeli military says it is striking Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon in response to overnight projectile launches at troops in south Lebanon by the Iran-backed terror group, despite a ceasefire announced a day earlier.
Consequences of an Israeli airstrike (3 bombs) on a building complex in Southern Lebanon
Multiple casualties.
Meanwhile, CNN also confirms that diplomacy is in "motion", writing: "US envoy Steve Witkoff is traveling to Switzerland for technical talks with Iran, a US official said, with President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner also expected to join. Meanwhile, mediator Pakistan’s interior minister has arrived in Iran for talks with senior Iranian officials as part of efforts to encourage them to Switzerland."
***
Shailoks should frigging STOP blaming Hezbollah for missiles attacks when it has been the shailoks themselves who were/are aggressively intruding into Lebanese sovereign territory, ignoring the terms signed by US-Iran in the agreed ceasefire and sabotaging the peace plan - get the frig out, shailoks
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to CNN:
ReplyDeleteIt’s not your (IRGC) country. They (IRGC) are using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in their negotiation with US. And it’s our people being killed.
Clear As Day.
https://x.com/yarahindy/status/2062883241091092816?s=46&t=8K6fzabO3g6uaj4KxwSSjg
Wakakaka…
DeleteClear As Day!
A day clouded by zionist fart.
IRGC kentut.
ReplyDeleteUS denies Iran's claim to have closed Strait of Hormuz over Israeli attacks in Lebanon
Summary
Iran says it is closing the Strait of Hormuz and accuses the US and Israel of violating the ceasefire deal, after Israel continued strikes on Lebanon
A US Central Command spokesperson says "traffic continues to flow" in the strait, with US forces "monitoring the situation", according to several media outlets - why is the strait so important?
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c9wq95g0lx2t
Wakakaka…
DeleteSo simple - just check MarineTraffic App to guide the traffic flow of fleet.
Clear as day about who farts!
Siberia is within reach.
ReplyDeleteFor the first time an Ukrainian drone struck a target more than 2,000 km (1,250 miles) from Ukrainian lines. The Tyuman refinery, which is east from the Ural Mountains, was struck by a drone from the Ukrainian company "Firepoint".
This has been announced by President Zelenskyy.
https://x.com/tendar/status/2068410146682708270?s=46&t=8K6fzabO3g6uaj4KxwSSjg
wow… only gullible gullie would believe that an ukrainian drone could fly 2,000 km (1,250 miles) from Ukrainian lines into Russia territory.
DeletePersian perfidy and deceit has been well known and well documented from the time of the Ancient Greeks and Roman Empire.
ReplyDeleteIts a eeply rooted cultural and ethnic feature.
You trust the Persian bond at your own peril.
T'was Cyrus the Great who freed Judeans from their Babylonian captivity and allowed the Jews to return to Judea. The Judeans wrote him into the Bible as a Messiah (mashiah (messiah or "anointed one"). In the Book of Isaiah, God explicitly addresses Cyrus: "I have raised up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free...", wakakaka
Deletethis, yr mfering faith in the zionist fart & their grandmother's fairytales
DeleteCyrus the Great (600 - 530BC) was a Zoroastrian and as a Religion they treated minorities like Isaacs, Hindus and Buddhists well.
DeleteThings changed drastically one millennium later, with the Ishmael invasion in the 7th century. The Persians were ethnically cleansed, Zoroastrians wiped off and Iran became 99% Ishmaels today.
1,000 years changed a peoples’ culture.
And the cultural comparison between Zoroastrianism and Ishmael couldn’t be any more different. One was tolerant, fair and trustworthy. The other is what you see today with the IRGC.
Monster and I were talking about Persians
Deletethis zionist assigned is a confused f*ck.
DeleteAI Overview Yes, Cyrus the Great was indeed Persian. He was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire (the First Persian Empire) and hailed from the region of Persis in modern-day Iran.
DeleteAI Overview
ReplyDeleteCyrus the Great was indeed Persian. He was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire (the First Persian Empire) and hailed from the region of Persis in modern-day Iran.