Iran has halted indirect negotiations with the United States over what it describes as Israel’s escalating military campaign in Lebanon, according to a report by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, raising fresh doubts about efforts to transform a fragile ceasefire into a broader agreement that would end the war.
Tasnim reported on June 1 that Iran’s negotiating team will stop talks—including the exchange of messages through a mediator—because Israel had continued military operations in Lebanon despite what Tehran considers a ceasefire that applies across all fronts.
The report said Iran considers a pause in Israeli military operations in Lebanon as a precondition of the ceasefire and that Israel’s actions amounted to a violation of the truce.
Iranian officials and negotiators are calling for an immediate cessation of Israeli military operations in both Gaza and Lebanon, along with the need for a complete withdrawal from occupied areas in Lebanon, Tasnim reported.
Besides halting talks, Iran is also threatening to completely close the Strait of Hormuz and expand the conflict to other regions, including the Bab el-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea, in response to Israeli actions.
Netanyahu cited “repeated and ongoing” ceasefire violations by Hezbollah against Israeli cities and civilians.
Iranian officials denounced the Israeli military’s moves and hinted at retaliation.
The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said that escalation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon, along with the ongoing U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, is “clear evidence” that the United States has broken the terms of the ceasefire.
“Every choice has a price, and the bill comes due,” Ghalibaf said in a June 1 post on X. “It will all fall into place.”
The Epoch Times has reached out to the White House with a request for comment.