Iran has suspended talks with the United States in protest of Israel’s actions in Lebanon, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.
“In view of the continued attacks on Lebanon by the Israeli regime, and given that Lebanon was one of the preconditions for the ceasefire, which is now being violated on all fronts, including in Lebanon, the Iranian negotiating team has suspended ‘dialogue and exchange of documents through mediators,’” Tasnim news agency reported.
Tasnim said Iran called for an immediate end to Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, adding that “no negotiations will take place until the positions of Iran and the resistance on these issues are satisfied.”
Tasnim added that the Iranian government and allied extremist groups in the region have on their agenda the “complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the activation of other fronts.” This includes the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have previously launched attacks on passing ships.
CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.
Earlier on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed the Israeli military to attack the Dahieh district on the southern outskirts of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold. Israeli officials told CNN that plans for the Beirut attack were being coordinated with the United States.
