Vance arrives for Iran talks as Strait of Hormuz closure looms

Vice President JD Vance arrived in Switzerland on Sunday for high-stakes negotiations with Iran aimed at solidifying a ceasefire agreement signed Wednesday.

The talks immediately faced credibility tests: Iran claimed it had closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, while US Central Command reported 55 merchant ships transited the strait on Saturday carrying over 17 million barrels of oil.

However, this disagreement is just another reflection of underlying fissures in the interim agreement facilitated by Pakistan. The two countries decided on a 60-day ceasefire so that they could work out permanent peace after an almost four-month-long war.

However, even as the ceasefire in Lebanon was about to be established, the armed forces of Israel and Hezbollah, who are backed by Iran, started shooting at each other.

According to the health department of Lebanon, there have been 20 deaths from the Israeli bombings alone on a Saturday.

According to Vance, progress in the nuclear programme of Iran and the establishment of a lasting ceasefire in Lebanon would be among the main aims of this meeting.

The talks are set to be held in Bürgenstock, which is a Swiss mountain retreat, in the presence of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif along with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

According to Iran's Supreme Leader's advisor Mohammad Mokhber, the first step of the ceasefire agreement is that the fight should be called off "on all fronts", including Lebanon. 

A fifth of the world’s oil supplies went through the Strait of Hormuz prior to the February 28 attack by the US and Israel.

Notably, US President Trump stated that there will be no toll for passage through the strait for the duration of the 60-day ceasefire, provided that peace negotiations are not unsuccessful.

He hinted on social media that if peace negotiations fail, he would impose tolls on other countries as well "for services rendered as the guardian angel to the countries of the Middle East".