Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images
The talks were the first to be held under the terms of a memorandum of understanding agreed a week ago, which calls for the strait to be reopened and a halt to all hostilities, including in Lebanon, which U.S. ally Israel invaded in March.
But with scant sign of an end to fighting there, Iran said on Saturday it had again shut the strait, whose closure for nearly four months caused the biggest disruption of global energy supplies in history.
It also said there could be no start to the next phase of substantive negotiations, including over its nuclear program, until Lebanon’s fighting ends and it receives promised economic benefits.
Ship tracking data
Commercially available tracking data suggested that Iran had indeed cut off the strait, with no crossings by ships that reported their positions – other than those serving Iranian ports – after Iran announced it was closed.
The Iranian and U.S. delegations at the talks initially met with Qatari and Pakistani mediators on Sunday ahead of the four-way meetings scheduled for later in the afternoon.
Vance briefly appeared before traveling media as he, envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Warm greetings were exchanged, and Vance said, “What’s up, man?” as he shook hands with Munir and hugged him. “My brother,” Munir said as he reached out to Witkoff and embraced him.
Closure of strait could reverse drop in oil prices
As is often the case with major developments that could affect the global economy during the war, the announcement that the strait was again shut came on the weekend, with markets closed, making it difficult to assess the impact.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he agreed last week to a memorandum of understanding to avert a global economic depression caused by high oil prices resulting from the closure of the strait.
After the agreement was announced, oil prices tumbled to levels unseen since the war started on hope of a quick restoration of disrupted supplies. But if the strait stays shut, that could be partially undone when markets reopen on Monday.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said Sunday’s talks in the scenic Qatari-owned Swiss mountain resort of Buergenstock would last for just one day.
Since Washington had failed to guarantee a ceasefire in Lebanon, the talks would cover only the implementation of the memorandum itself and not the substantive issues foreseen for the next stage of negotiations, Baghaei said.
Vance hopes for progress
The memorandum foresees 60 days of talks on issues such as curbing Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions.
Raphael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency which is likely to be called upon to verify any nuclear deal, was also in Switzerland for the talks.
Even before substantive talks begin, Iran expects to receive economic benefits, such as sanctions waivers and the unfreezing of blocked assets.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, quoted by Fars, expressed optimism that talks with the U.S. could provide a strong basis for economic growth. He said the first achievement of the negotiations was the restoration of access to some of Iran’s financial resources.
Before his departure, Vance told reporters: “I think we’re going to hopefully make progress on the nuclear issue, make progress on the Lebanon ceasefire issue.”
Ceasefires have been repeatedly announced in Lebanon, most recently on Friday, but have had only limited impact so far on the fighting there, with more than a million people driven from their homes by Israel’s invasion.
However, in a possibly positive sign on Sunday, Reuters journalists in southern Lebanon reported some of the heaviest traffic since the memorandum was signed, with residents returning to homes they had fled. Some stood beside cars backed up on the highway and waved Hezbollah flags.
Authorities say 20 killed in Lebanon
Reuters journalists in southern Lebanon also saw rescuers on Saturday carrying wounded at the sites of Israeli attacks, which have reduced swathes of Lebanese towns and villages to ruins of concrete rubble that residents say resemble the Gaza Strip.
Lebanese authorities say 20 people were killed on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of major violence on Sunday morning.
The army said on Sunday that specialized units were still working to dismantle unexploded Israeli bombs weighing 1,000 and 2,000 pounds that had been dropped on southern towns.
Trump’s memorandum to end the war, which he jointly launched alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February, is deeply unpopular in Israel, which did not participate in the peace talks.
Netanyahu’s government says it will not withdraw from a swathe of Lebanon it seized after Hezbollah fighters fired across the border into Israel in solidarity with Tehran.
None of war objectives achieved
After Trump and Netanyahu launched the war in February, they said their aims were to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, halt its ability to threaten neighbors with missiles and proxy forces, and make it easier for Iranians to topple the government.
None of those objectives has yet been achieved, although U.S. officials say they still expect a strong final agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
A poll by Israel’s Hebrew University, provided to Reuters, showed about 92% of Israelis believe Iran benefited more than Israel from the joint Israeli-U.S. military campaign, while just 8% see Israel as having emerged victorious.
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