Skip to main content

Iran's blackmail of Lebanon

1 min Mena Today

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Saturday he expects to go to Switzerland soon for talks with Iran, even as Tehran's high command was reported as saying it would shut the Strait of Hormuz due to what it called U.S. and Israeli truce violations.

Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. Reuters

Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, Lebanon, June 20, 2026. Reuters

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said on Saturday he expects to go to Switzerland soon for talks with Iran, even as Tehran's high command was reported as saying it would shut the Strait of Hormuz due to what it called U.S. and Israeli truce violations.

Iran's top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central ‌Headquarters, said the waterway, vital to global oil shipments, would be closed to vessel traffic, citing alleged violations of a ceasefire agreement by the U.S. and Israel, Iran's Mehr state news agency reported.

It said that the closure was the "first step" in response to what it described as breaches of commitments and warned that further measures would be taken if "aggression" continued.

The Mehr report emerged as Vance told Fox News in an interview that he was confident the ceasefire agreed in Washington's 14-point deal with Tehran would hold, and that he saw no evidence that Hormuz was closed.

By Humeyra Pamuk, Jana Choukeir and Steve Holland

Related

Iran

Trump's surrender: How a President forgot his own country's dead

There are mistakes, and then there are betrayals dressed up as diplomacy. Donald Trump's memorandum of understanding with Iran - one that folds Lebanon into a ceasefire framework between Israel and Hezbollah - belongs firmly in the second category.

Politics

Spain's toxic twosome

The wife of Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez must stand trial on corruption charges and has been banned from leaving the country, a judge ruled on Saturday.

Iran

Talks and strikes

U.S. President Donald Trump's personal envoy and Iran's foreign minister were headed to Switzerland for talks, Axios said, although deadly strikes by Israel in Lebanon on Saturday could test a new ceasefire key to ending the Iran war.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.