U.S. President Donald Trump, in response, threatened to impose U.S. tolls in the crucial waterway if a final deal with Iran isn’t reached in 60 days, saying the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.” His social media post underscored that the agreement calls for toll-free travel for 60 days.
The announcements indicated a rough start to technical-level U.S.-Iran talks that key mediator Pakistan said will begin Sunday, with Qatari mediators also participating.
Iran’s joint military command said the strait was closed because of the U.S. “clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war. The interim deal is meant to stop fighting on all fronts.
Shortly after that, Iran's state broadcaster said that the negotiating team was leaving for Switzerland, a trip delayed from Friday. State media said that the team includes parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and central bank and oil officials, among others. The deal calls for Iran’s assets to be unfrozen.
The U.S. disputed Iran's announcement on the strait.
“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case,” said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command. The military said that 55 merchant ships transited Saturday with more than 17 million barrels of oil.
Iran's team departs for talks as uncertainty grows
Negotiations toward a final agreement will begin once key commitments are upheld, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said. If they are not, “the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized.”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance confirmed that top negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were in Switzerland and working through technical details of anticipated negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. The interim deal gives negotiators 60 days to reach a nuclear agreement, but that can be extended.
Vance told Fox News that he expects to leave for Switzerland in “the next couple of days.”
As part of efforts to revive direct talks, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with Araghchi in Tehran earlier Saturday, according to officials in Islamabad who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The global economy braced for more uncertainty.
Ships began transiting after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week, a milestone that left plenty of questions unanswered. The U.S. lifted its blockade of Iran’s ports and now allows Tehran to sell its oil freely — terms that have left some in U.S. Congress asking whether the war was worth it.
