Iran warns Israel’s Lebanon offensive could sink US ceasefire talks

Iran has warned that Israel’s expanding military campaign in Lebanon and the continuing war in Gaza could jeopardise its fragile ceasefire negotiations with the United States, raising fears of a wider regional confrontation.

Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Monday accused Israel of violating the ceasefire framework by intensifying attacks in Lebanon while the US maintains pressure on Iranian shipping and ports.

“The ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” Araghchi wrote on X.

“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.”

His remarks were echoed by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator, who described Israel’s military operations in Lebanon and the US naval blockade as evidence of Washington’s failure to honour the ceasefire.

“Every choice has a price, and the bill comes due,” Ghalibaf wrote. “It will all fall into place.”

The warnings came as Israel deepened its ground offensive in southern Lebanon and threatened renewed large-scale strikes on Beirut. Shortly after the Iranian statements, the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for parts of Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh and launched fresh strikes. Israeli forces are reported to have reached their deepest point inside Lebanon in more than two decades.

US President Donald Trump, however, sought to project optimism, saying he had intervened to prevent further escalation.

“There will be no troops going to Beirut, and any troops that are on their way, have already been turned back,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after what he described as a productive call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Trump also claimed that representatives linked to Hezbollah had agreed to halt attacks, though it remains unclear who he spoke to. Any direct contact between a US president and Hezbollah would mark a significant departure from longstanding American policy.

Meanwhile, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Tehran has suspended exchanges of negotiating texts with Washington through intermediaries until Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon cease.

According to the report, Iranian negotiators have demanded an immediate halt to Israeli military actions and a full withdrawal from Lebanese territory before talks can resume.

In a further escalation, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that “new fronts” could be opened and threatened continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz if Israeli operations persist.

“Iran considers crossing the red lines in Lebanon and Gaza to mean direct war,” state television quoted the IRGC intelligence organisation as saying.

The developments underscore Tehran’s insistence that Lebanon and Gaza be included in any broader agreement with Washington, even as the Trump administration attempts to keep those conflicts separate from negotiations over Iran. Despite the mounting tensions, Trump maintained that Tehran remains interested in reaching a deal.

“Iran wants to make a deal,” he wrote. “Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end.”