Iran Declares Renewed Hormuz Closure as US, Iran Confirm June 21 Working Talks in Switzerland

The US and Iran have confirmed they will attend working-level talks in Switzerland on June 21, keeping diplomatic contacts alive. But Iran's declaration on June 20 that it would reimpose a closure of the Strait of Hormuz has put an earlier memorandum of understanding, or MOU, to an early test.

US Vice President JD Vance spoke to reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington before departing for Switzerland for the negotiations. He said the talks would last about two days and voiced hope for progress on the nuclear issue and a ceasefire in Lebanon.

On Israel's continued airstrikes in Lebanon against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah after the MOU took effect, Vance said conditions were improving. The issue would require continued management, he added, to ensure the safety and stability of both Israel and Lebanon.

A US delegation including Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, had already arrived in Switzerland. Iran's negotiating team, led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, also arrived in Switzerland on June 20, Switzerland's foreign ministry said in a post on X.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, which mediated the ceasefire talks, said in a statement on June 20 that the two countries would hold face-to-face working-level talks in Switzerland on June 21.

Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the command coordinating Iran's armed forces, said on June 20 that the US and Israel had violated the MOU over Lebanon and that Iran would again close the Strait of Hormuz. The US and Iran had been scheduled to hold their first working-level talks in Switzerland on nuclear issues and sanctions relief after signing the memorandum, but the meeting was delayed as fighting continued between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, which oversees American forces in the Middle East, told Reuters and The New York Times on June 20 that Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz and that shipping traffic was continuing.

Iran's Foreign Ministry also said the meeting would not mark the start of full-scale negotiations. Instead, it said, the purpose was to review violations of the MOU and press the US to honor its commitments.

Trump wrote on Truth Social that there would be no transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day ceasefire period and none after the 60 days expired. He added that if a final agreement was not reached, an exception could apply if such fees were imposed by the US and for the US to recover past, present and future costs for services America provided as what he called the guardian angel of Middle Eastern countries. The post suggested the US could impose transit fees in the Strait of Hormuz if no final deal is reached with Iran.

Choi Su-jin, Hankyung.com reporter naive@hankyung.com