Iran's negotiating team has stopped exchanging messages with the United States through negotiators because of Israeli attacks in Lebanon, Iran's state news agency Tasnim reported, as cited by Reuters.
Tasnim announces that Iran will not resume negotiations until the conditions required for a ceasefire in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip are met.
Another strait targeted by Iran
Moreover, Tehran discussed with its allies in the region the possibility of completely blocking the Strait of Hormuz, as well as opening a new front of hostilities, in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.
The agency says the matter has been discussed by Iran together with the Resistance Front, which includes its Shiite allies in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq.
Blocking the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a vital waterway for Suez Canal traffic, could be carried out by Houthi militias, Iran's allies in Yemen.
“Ceasefire violation on one front is a violation on all fronts. The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X.
“The immediate cessation of armed operations in Gaza and Lebanon by the aggressive and brutal Zionist regime and the need for a complete withdrawal from the occupied areas of Lebanon have been emphasized by Iranian officials and negotiators, and there will be no more negotiations until the conditions of Iran and the resistance are met,” Tasnim further announced.
Netanyahu orders new attacks in Lebanon
Iran's decision comes a few hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered an attack on Hezbollah positions in the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, reports the BBC.
Netanyahu said Hezbollah's “terrorist targets” in Dahieh would be attacked in response to attacks on Israeli civilians and other violations of the cease-fire reached in late April.
A senior Lebanese official told the BBC that the government in Beirut hoped that US mediation would pressure Israel to end ceasefire violations and avoid further civilian casualties in the conflict.
Before Tehran's announcement, US President Donald Trump said the previous day that Iran had committed to not acquiring nuclear weapons, one of the sticking points in the negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end the war between the two countries, writes AFP on Sunday.
