Iran says Strait of Hormuz closed again after Israeli attacks on Lebanon

Iran on Saturday said it has closed the Strait of Hormuz again, because of deadly Israeli strikes in Lebanon that are a breach of Tehran’s agreement with the United States to end the war.

The announcement comes as a high-level Iranian team arrived in Switzerland to meet with US vice-president JD Vance for a new round of peace talks.

In a statement from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps read out on Iranian state television, it also warned vessels not to approach the Strait "otherwise, their security will be placed at risk".

The US military has, however, disputed the claim saying commercial ship traffic continued through the strait on Saturday.

It said 55 merchant ships transited, “moving large amounts of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to global markets”.

It was not clear when in the day they had moved through the Strait.

Ships began transiting after the interim US-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week, a milestone that has left plenty of questions unanswered.

Talks between Tehran and Washington are reportedly due to get underway on Sunday, following a 14-point deal they signed earlier in the week.

It started a 60-day negotiating period to resolve wider issues, including on Iran's nuclear programme.