Iran Says Israel’s Lebanon and Gaza Operations Endanger US Ceasefire Talks

Iranian leaders are warning that intensified Israeli operations in Lebanon and the continuing conflict in Gaza could undermine ceasefire discussions with the United States, which have already been moving slowly.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday that Israel’s widening military campaign in Lebanon, its attacks there, and what Tehran describes as an ongoing US siege of Iranian ports amount to a breach of the ceasefire.

“The ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Araghchi said in a social media post. “Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts. The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation.”

Iran’s lead negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, issued a similar message. “The naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon by the genocidal Zionist regime are clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire,” he wrote on social media. “Every choice has a price, and the bill comes due. It will all fall into place,” he added.

The statements came as Israel pushed further into southern Lebanon and signalled that major strikes on Beirut could restart. Soon after the Iranian comments, Israel’s military ordered people in Dahiye, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, to leave the area before strikes were launched.

A day earlier, Israeli ground troops had advanced to their deepest position inside Lebanon in 26 years.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported Monday afternoon that Tehran is also pressing for Israeli military action in Gaza to stop. According to the report, Iranian officials have paused text exchanges with US representatives through a mediator because fighting has continued.

“The immediate cessation of the Zionist regime’s aggressive and brutal army operations in Gaza and Lebanon and the necessity of the regime’s complete withdrawal from the occupied areas in Lebanon have been emphasised by Iranian officials and negotiators, and there will be no talks until Iran and the resistance’s views on this matter are met,” Tasnim reported.

The Iranian government has not publicly confirmed the Tasnim account. However, the agency is widely viewed as having ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the report may reflect a message Tehran wants to send.

Washington has sought to treat Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon as separate from the wider confrontation involving Iran. Tehran, however, has maintained that Lebanon must be covered in any later agreement.

The US administration has instead supported and hosted separate discussions involving Lebanese and Israeli officials.

President Donald Trump said again early Monday that Iran “wants to make a deal,” while telling critics to stop “chirping” and leave the talks to him.

“Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end – It always does!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.