On June 20, 2026 (Day 114 of the Iran-Israel-US war, Operation Epic Fury / Saturday), the deal entered its first serious crisis as Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed again — putting the agreement’s central economic mechanism into reverse just two days after the US lifted its blockade and traffic surged. THE CLOSURE: Iranian state media reported Saturday that Iran’s military will close the Strait of Hormuz in response to “ongoing” Israeli violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon and the United States “failing to implement” the first clause of the tentative agreement — the clause stipulating the “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon” (CNN). The naval division of the IRGC warned vessels not to approach the strait, broadcast a warning message, and directly contacted ships in the area, cautioning that vessels attempting to cross could encounter mines or be targeted by navy forces; an IRIB reporter said Persian Gulf traffic was “even lighter” than hours earlier (CNN/IRIB). THE LEBANON TRIGGER: the IDF said Hezbollah launched more than 50 rockets targeting Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon overnight into Saturday despite the ceasefire that took effect Friday at 4 p.m., and four Israeli soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in an attack on a tank in a village near Nabatieh, with five more wounded by an explosive drone; Israel launched multiple strikes against what it called Hezbollah infrastructure sites (PBS, CNN). Some 36 Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon and northern Israel since the Hezbollah conflict began in early March, and more than 4,000 Lebanese have been killed in Israeli strikes over the same period per the Lebanese Health Ministry. THE LEVERAGE: analysts and Iranian outlets framed the closure as leverage to force a full Lebanon ceasefire — Iran’s Tasnim News Agency, aligned with the IRGC, warned negotiator Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi against arriving at the Geneva talks “empty-handed,” saying that since the MOU had been violated in Lebanon, Iran had no obligation to keep the strait open; Iranian negotiators argued that President Trump signed the MOU, so if he cannot ensure the Lebanon ceasefire, the rest of the agreement is in question (CNN). THE TALKS PROCEED ANYWAY: Vice President Vance departed for Geneva on Saturday — after calling off the same trip two days earlier — alongside Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff, to meet an Iranian delegation with Pakistan and Qatar mediating, with Iran carrying the Hormuz closure as its bargaining chip. THE BACKDROP: the closure reverses a real recovery — more than 12.5 million barrels of oil shipped through Hormuz on Wednesday night, per US figures — and comes after Iran’s new Persian Gulf Strait Authority issued Friday guidance requiring ships to register and signaling it intends eventually to charge, even as fees are waived and government-covered for 60 days. Net assessment: Day 114 is the deal’s first genuine crisis — the Hormuz mechanism that validated the agreement is now being wielded as a weapon against it, with the Israel-Lebanon front the trigger and the Geneva talks the venue where it must be defused or the interim deal risks unraveling.