Middle East live: US-Iran talks to begin in Switzerland as Tehran says it has closed strait of Hormuz

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the latest in the Middle East and updates on the on going peace talks between the US and Iran .

On Sunday delegations for the US and Iran delegations have arrived at Swiss resort for talks . Mediators from Pakistan and Qatar will also be in attendance according to the Swiss foreign ministry. Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding earlier in June.

This follows news that Iran has said it has closed the strait of Hormuz over continued strikes from Israel in Lebanon . On Sunday Iran’s Fars news agency agency cited a military source ⁠as ⁠saying that the strait ⁠of Hormuz remains closed and the Revolutionary ⁠Guards navy has ​not ‌issued permission for ‌any vessels to ‌transit until further notice.

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday killed at least 16 people , local authorities said.

US vice-president JD Vance arrived at the Swiss mountainside resort of Burgenstock early on Sunday to meet Iranian negotiators for the second time.

US Central Command says ⁠55 merchant ships transited strait on Saturday.

Iran has said it is closing the strait of Hormuz after waves of Israeli strikes in Lebanon in a move that threatens to derail the fragile interim peace deal with the US, signed just days ago.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned ships not to approach the strategic waterway, which before the war carried a fifth of global oil and liquid gas supplies, citing what it called Israeli crimes in Lebanon and a US violation of commitments to establish a ceasefire there.

It was unclear if the threat had been carried out, or if it would jeopardise talks in Switzerland scheduled for Sunday that were supposed to start the process of turning the current interim agreement between the US and Iran signed this week into a more detailed deal covering Iran’s nuclear programme.