War in the Middle East: Iran announces "close" the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli attacks in Lebanon

New Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon left at least 16 dead on Saturday June 20, reported the official Lebanese news agency ANI, despite the announcement the day before of a ceasefire between Israel and pro-Iranian Hezbollah. The Lebanese Civil Defense announced that Israeli strikes in the Nabatiyeh region, in the south of the country, left 16 dead on Saturday.

In response, the central command of the Iranian army announced on Saturday that it had once again closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz. “It is hereby announced that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed to maritime traffic (…) this first measure is a response to the violation of commitments by the enemy”, declared the central staff Khatam-al Anbiya, in a press release distributed by the state television. “If the aggression continues, other measures will be planned and implemented to force the enemy to respect its obligations,” he added.

Peace agreement with the United States ‘in danger’

The Iranian Foreign Ministry also warned the United States that the memorandum of understanding concluded between the two countries would be “in danger” if its provisions were not implemented quickly, in the midst of an outbreak of violence in Lebanon. “The other party must take the necessary measures as soon as possible, or else the entire memorandum of understanding”, which provides in particular for the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon “will be in danger”, affirmed the spokesperson for Iranian diplomacy, Esmaïl Baghaï, quoted by the official Irna agency.

For its part, the American army said it remained “vigilant” on Saturday to apply the ceasefire agreement with Iran, after Tehran’s announcement of the new closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “American forces remain present and vigilant to ensure that all provisions of the agreement with Iran are respected, applied and fully in force,” says the American command for the Middle East in a press release. The latter also ensures that crossings of the Strait of Hormuz continued safely on Saturday, with the passage of 55 merchant ships.

The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the holding of American-Iranian “technical” discussions in Switzerland on Sunday in the presence of representatives of Pakistan and Qatar, mediator countries. Iranian negotiators left the country on Saturday for Switzerland, it said. side announced state media.

A fifth round of negotiations on Tuesday

While the Israeli army said it was targeting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, a deputy from the pro-Iranian movement estimated that Hezbollah has “full right” to respond to Israeli attacks. “It is a question of a ceasefire. For us, what matters is that the enemy fully and totally respects this ceasefire, and that it does not attempt to attack our country and our villages, nor to occupy new positions”, declared Hassan Fadlallah in a press release, adding that “the resistance has the full right to face this enemy when it attacks us, because he is the aggressor and the occupier.”

On Friday, an American official told AFP that an immediate truce between Israel and the Shiite organization Hezbollah, supported by Iran, had been concluded by American and Qatari mediators after discussions with Israel and Iran. The Israeli ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, indicated that his country would respect the ceasefire if Hezbollah did the same, while previous truce announcements had had little effect.