Iran has shut down its communications with the US through mediators in protest of Israel’s Monday strikes on Beirut, disrupting weeks of attempts to find a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart formal peace talks.
“In light of the ongoing crimes of the Zionist regime in Lebanon and given that Lebanon was part of the ceasefire preconditions, and now this ceasefire has been violated on all fronts, including Lebanon, the Iranian negotiating team is suspending ‘discussions and exchanges of texts through intermediaries,’” the government-linked Tasnim News Agency wrote on X Monday.
“The immediate halt to the aggressive and brutal operations of the Zionist regime’s army in Gaza and Lebanon, and the necessity of the regime’s complete withdrawal from the occupied areas in Lebanon, have been emphasized by Iranian officials and negotiators, and as long as Iran’s and the resistance’s stance on this matter is not satisfied, there will be no dialogue.”
Iran also threatened to open new fronts in the war, including targeting another oil chokepoint in the region.
“The Resistance Front and Iran have resolved to pursue the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and the activation of other fronts, including the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as part of their agenda to punish the Zionists and their supporters.”
The White House did not immediately respond for a request for comment.