A day after Iran announced it was suspending negotiations for a peace deal with the United States, Donald Trump returned with a new message on Truth Social in which he says the talks have not stopped for a moment in recent days.
“Fake news reports that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States stopped dialogue a few days ago are false and erroneous. Conversations between us have been ongoing, including four days ago, three days ago, two days ago and today. Where they will lead is unknown, but as we have conveyed to Iran 'The time has come, one way or another, to reach an agreement. You have been doing this for 47 years and it cannot continue,'” the US president wrote on Truth Social.
Nervousness in Tehran regarding the situation in Lebanon
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 said on Monday, as quoted 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.
“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.
“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 reasons for Tehran's irritation were related to Israel's intention to storm a suburb of Beirut, considered a Hezbollah stronghold.
Trump's Monday mediation
After the Iranian side's announcement, Trump said he had not received a formal notification, but added that he had no problem waiting for flexibility from Tehran.
“I think we've talked too much, if you want to know the truth. I think we'd better keep quiet. It doesn't mean we're going to start dropping bombs everywhere. We're going to keep quiet. We're going to maintain the blockade,” Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC News.
Shortly after, in a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump announced that he had achieved a ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah.
“I had a very productive discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and there will be no troops going into Beirut, and the ones that are on the way have already been moved out of the way. Also, through representatives, I had a good discussion with Hezbollah, and they agreed that the fire must cease. That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” wrote Donald Trump.
Tense talk with Netanyahu
According to Axios, Donald Trump reportedly expressed his anger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a telephone conversation on Monday regarding the escalation of Israeli military operations in Lebanon.
According to the publication, which cited US officials and sources with knowledge of the conversation, Trump called Netanyahu “crazy”, accusing him of ingratitude and claiming his actions had damaged Israel's image internationally.
In the same call, he also reportedly intervened to thwart an Israeli plan to attack Beirut, jeopardizing Washington's diplomatic efforts with Tehran.
A US official claimed that Trump had warned Netanyahu that an attack on the Lebanese capital would further isolate Israel internationally.
