Negotiations to end the Middle East war appear in deep trouble, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatening to expand the conflict hours after the US and Iran exchanged strikes.
Weeks of indirect talks marked by threats and several waves of air strikes have so far failed to agree an end to the war or the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest exchange of fire coincided with Israel expanding its ground offensive in Lebanon, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to push deeper into the country and instructing the military to strike “terror targets” in a south Beirut district.
The United States has backed its ally’s operations in Lebanon against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, while still trying to come to an agreement with Iran to end the war it launched in late February.
But Iran again said it had not yet reopened any nuclear negotiations and insisted that Israel must halt its offensive in Lebanon before any wider deal to end the war could be agreed.
The US naval blockade on Iran’s ports and the escalation in Lebanon were “clear evidence of US non-compliance with the ceasefire”, Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on X.
Tasnim reported that “the Iranian negotiating team is suspending dialogues and exchange of texts through mediators”, blaming Israel’s actions in Lebanon.
And in a message carried by state TV, the Revolutionary Guards intelligence body said “Iran considers crossing the red lines in Lebanon and Gaza to mean direct war”.
It added: “In return, it is determined to carry out defensive operations by taking meaningful actions and opening new fronts, in addition to preserving the Strait of Hormuz equation.”
- AFP
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