US and Iran open ceasefire talks in Switzerland as Hormuz access disputed
US and Iranian delegations arrived in Switzerland over the weekend for technical-level talks beginning June 21 at the Burgenstock resort, the next step after a memorandum of understanding signed June 18 that declared an end to military operations “on all fronts.” Vice President JD Vance is leading the US side for a day or two; Iran’s delegation includes parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. The memorandum gives the parties 60 days, extendable by mutual consent, to reach a final agreement covering Iran’s nuclear program and other disputes.
The talks open against contradictory claims over the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas moves. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said June 20 it was restricting access and warned that ships’ “security would be at risk.” US Central Command rejected the assertion, saying 55 commercial vessels transited safely that day and that “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz.” The gap between the two accounts is itself a test of the week-old understanding: Iran is signaling leverage without closing the waterway, while Washington is publicly treating the corridor as open.
President Trump said there would be no tolls in the strait for 60 days and none afterward “unless they are imposed by and for the United States,” a reversal of his earlier statement that the waterway should remain permanently toll-free. The memorandum bars Iran from charging passage fees during the interim period but does not address what happens after it. Israeli strikes on Lebanon in recent days have continued to strain the arrangement.