Iran Closes Strait Route, Sustains Proxy Attacks; U.S. Issues Deterrence Warning

President Trump on Sunday threatened to strike Iran harder than the previous week unless it immediately stops its proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble and keeps the Strait of Hormuz open. "Iran must immediately stop their highly paid proxies in Lebanon from causing trouble," Trump said.

" In a separate phone interview with Fox News, Trump added that closing the Strait of Hormuz would leave Iran without a country.

The waterway carries 20 percent of the world’s oil. Vice President J.D. Vance attended peace talks the same day at the Burgenstock resort overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. The session, also attended by the prime ministers of Pakistan and Qatar, sought to extend a tentative Friday ceasefire that requires all fighting in Lebanon to end.

Iranian officials said the U.S. failure to restrain Israel had already violated the ceasefire terms. Iranian forces announced Saturday that they had closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to continued Israeli strikes against Hezbollah.

Israeli and Hezbollah forces exchanged heavy fire throughout Saturday despite the ceasefire announcement. Vance said he hoped the United States and Iran could turn over a new leaf and expand the ceasefire into a long-term solution on Iran’s nuclear program. A member of Iran’s negotiation team warned U.S.

Officials to be careful with statements because Iran’s armed forces are ready to respond.