Sunday shows preview: Iran’s Strait of Hormuz closure threatens Trump MOU ahead of planned Switzerland peace talks

Vice President Vance left for Switzerland Saturday evening to join special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, for technical talks with Iran in hopes of reaching a potential nuclear deal.

The U.S. and Iran this week reached a preliminary agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical trading corridor whose months-long closure disrupted global oil supply and caused energy prices to skyrocket.

But uncertainty loomed over the prospect of reaching a final peace deal between the two sides after Iran on Saturday announced that it is closing the waterway again, accusing the U.S. and Israel of violating a ceasefire deal after Israel launched strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.

The strikes targeting southern Lebanon occurred hours after a ceasefire agreement went into effect, killing at least 16 people and injuring 12, according to the Lebanese Civil Defense.

In response to the closure, Trump on Saturday threatened to impose American tolls in the strait if a final deal with Iran is not reached in 60 days, adding that the money collected from the tolls would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.”

The negotiations, which will be mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, were originally supposed to occur on Friday but were postponed due to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Vance had previously been expected to arrive in Switzerland on Thursday to lead the U.S. delegation, but postponed his trip at the last minute.

Vance told reporters that he expected to be in Europe for “a day or two” and was optimistic about making progress in the technical talks and on reaching a ceasefire in southern........

© The Hill