Khaberni - A new round of negotiations between the United States and Iran concerning the war in the Middle East will launch on Sunday in Switzerland, where the plane of the Iranian negotiators has already landed just hours before the arrival of U.S. Vice President Jay D. Vance, despite Tehran's announcement that it will close the Strait of Hormuz again due to Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
Before boarding the plane to Europe, Vance told reporters before leaving Andrews Joint Base, "I believe we will make progress on the nuclear issue and make progress on a ceasefire in Lebanon. These are the two main issues I believe we will focus on."
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir have left for Switzerland to participate in talks to implement the memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran, according to the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ministry expected that Sharif would have "bilateral interactions" with the participating delegations on the sidelines of the talks, confirming that Pakistan will continue to support the implementation of the understandings between Iran and the United States.
The negotiations were scheduled to begin on Friday in Switzerland but were postponed at the last moment due to Israel escalating its attacks in Lebanon after four soldiers, including an officer, were killed by Hezbollah fire.
At that time, Washington reached an agreement to renew the ceasefire there, a condition of its preliminary agreement with Iran, but Israeli forces clashed again with Hezbollah fighters on Saturday amid mutual accusations of violating the truce.
The Central Operations Room of the Iranian forces, in a statement, announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to navigation "due to the explicit breach of its commitments by the United States" and "in response to the ongoing and continuous violations of the ceasefire by the Zionist entity in southern Lebanon."
U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian had remotely signed the memorandum of understanding late Wednesday night that stipulated an end to the war including the Lebanese front, opening the Strait of Hormuz, and lifting the American blockade on Iranian ports.
The U.S. Central Command confirmed that safe passage through the international waterway "remains in place" and that U.S. forces are "alert."
Trump later warned that Washington might impose its own transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz if the negotiators fail to reach a deal.
Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform that there would be no fees "unless imposed by the United States for its benefit."
Preparatory talks between the diplomats began on Saturday, according to Bern.
- Swiss Push
Official Iranian media and the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that an Iranian delegation arrived in Switzerland late on Saturday.
The official Iranian television announced that among the delegation members are the Speaker of the Parliament and chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and the Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Bqaei said the delegation "will follow up and demand the implementation of the other party's commitments" according to the understanding, as reported by the news agency "IRNA."
Vance left Washington on an afternoon flight to join the talks, saying, "I can only stay there for a day or two."
Vance stated in an interview with Fox News earlier on Saturday that American negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were there to handle "some technical elements," noting that they had reported that "things are going well."
Pakistan confirmed that "technical-level talks" will be held on Sunday in Burgenstock, Switzerland, adding that Pakistani and Qatari mediators will participate in the discussions with the American and Iranian delegations.
It is expected that the negotiations will last for two months and will address issues left unresolved by the initial agreement, especially the Iranian nuclear program.
- Lebanon Truce
Israel and Hezbollah exchanged accusations on Saturday, with fighting continuing in southern Lebanon.
The Israeli army announced the death of one of its soldiers during battles in southern Lebanon, bringing the total number of soldiers killed since the signing of the memorandum of understanding to five.
An Israeli military official confirmed that the army received orders from political leadership to stop fighting in southern Lebanon, adding that Israeli forces "do not carry out preemptive strikes" and operate "defensively within the declared security zone" in southern Lebanon.
Earlier, an Israeli military official said new attacks were ongoing after "Hezbollah fired more than 50 rockets at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon" overnight.
Hezbollah accused Israel of, "under the guise of a ceasefire, attempting an infiltration towards Ali Taher Heights" last night (Friday), adding that its fighters ambushed the Israeli force and countered it "with appropriate weapons."
Lebanese official media reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted about 20 locations, and authorities counted over 30 fatalities.
The Ministry of Health said that the total number of martyrs due to the fighting in Lebanon exceeded four thousand people.
Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said, "The resistance has the full right to confront this enemy when it aggresses us."
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Yehiel Leter accused Hezbollah of violating the truce, saying Israel "is defending itself against terrorist attacks."
But Hezbollah responded that Israel "bears full responsibility."
Fadi Ziyad, who fled from the town of Tyre Dibba in southern Lebanon, told AFP that "fear dominates" the south.
The 53-year-old man added, "We returned to the village a few days ago, but our bags are ready to flee again."
Hezbollah entered the Middle East war in early March when it launched a rocket attack on Israel in response to the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint American-Israeli attack.
A previous ceasefire agreement in April was not respected, as both sides exchanged accusations of breaching it.
