Iran Announces Closure of Strait of Hormuz Over Israel's Lebanon Strikes; US Disputes

Iran's military said it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again over Israel's attacks on southern Lebanon, claiming that the strikes violate Tehran's agreement with the US to end the war. However, US Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins told media outlets that "traffic continues to flow" and that "Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz."

US Vice President JD Vance departed Washington on Saturday for direct US-Iran talks in Switzerland on Sunday. He told reporters he hoped to make progress "on the nuclear issue" and on the "Lebanon ceasefire issue." Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said his country would be "demanding that the other side fulfil its commitments."

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will attend the start of the talks, his office told the BBC. Pakistan has acted as a mediator throughout the war and hosted a previous round of negotiations between the US and Iran in Islamabad in April.

Earlier this week, the US and Iranian presidents signed an initial agreement aimed at ending the war, including in Lebanon, with immediate effect. It includes a commitment to further talks to reach a final deal over the next 60 days.

On Saturday, Donald Trump posted on social media that the US could impose its own tolls on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz if the US and Iran did not reach a negotiated deal.

Justifying its announcement, the Iranian military accused the US of violating the US-Iran deal by not implementing the first clause of their 14-point memorandum of understanding, which agrees to "the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon."

Tracking data monitored by BBC Verify suggested that at least five tankers passed through the Strait on Saturday while several vessels appeared to have made U-turns in the area. However, earlier on Saturday, Centcom said commercial ship traffic through the strait had increased, with 55 merchant ships transiting.

The Iranian announcement came after at least 20 people were reportedly killed by Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, less than 24 hours after a new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was announced. Lebanon's health ministry said 4,057 people had been killed since the restart of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah on 2 March.

Israel and Hezbollah have since accused each other of repeatedly violating Friday's ceasefire. On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had struck "dozens" of targets from Hezbollah, after it said the Iran-backed group fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in the region.

An Israeli strike killed a family of four in the town of Barich, Lebanese state media reported. Israel's military also said an Israeli soldier was killed in battle in southern Lebanon on Saturday.

Israeli officials have previously said that they had no intention of withdrawing their forces from Lebanon and insisted the conflict with the Iran-backed group Hezbollah was separate from the war on Iran. Hezbollah meanwhile said Israeli attacks in Lebanon were an attempt to "sabotage" the broader US-Iran deal.

The US government has criticized Israel's ongoing operations in Lebanon, which was drawn into the war when Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader.