Iran has officially ended all diplomatic discussions with the United States, accusing Israel of breaching a ceasefire agreement by launching attacks on its ally, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
On Monday, Iran’s chief negotiators ceased communication with the US via Pakistani intermediaries, as reported by the Iranian state-affiliated news agency, Tasnim. Tehran has also threatened to completely close the Strait of Hormuz in response.
The Iranian government alleges that communication was halted because the ceasefire agreement included a condition that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) would stop their assaults on Hezbollah in Lebanon.
According to Tasnim, Iran has stated that it will not engage in any dialogue until Israel fully withdraws from Lebanon and ceases its military actions in Gaza.
A regime official told state media, “The resistance front and Iran have decided to entirely block the Strait of Hormuz and activate other fronts, including the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, as a means to penalize the Zionists and their allies.”
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has attempted to mediate a temporary ceasefire between Israel, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and Lebanon. However, these efforts have not been successful.
Oil markets went into a frenzy following news of the ceasefire’s collapse, with crude prices climbing more than six percent.
The closure of the strait, which moves one-fifth of all global oil, has raised gas prices across the globe for months.
Iran’s top negotiators on Monday stopped exchanging messages with the US through Pakistani intermediaries as Tehran vowed to fully shut down the Strait of Hormuz
Iran cut off communication with US diplomats after accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire with continued bombings in Lebanon
The closure of the strait, which traffics one-fifth of all global oil, has raised gas prices across the globe for months
Trump claimed on Friday that he would enter the Situation Room to review Iran’s latest offer to end the war
Just hours prior on Monday, Trump claimed that Iran ‘really wants to make a deal’ and that a comprehensive peace agreement with the regime remains within reach.
‘Iran really wants to make a deal, and it will be a good one for the USA and those that are with us,’ Trump wrote on X in the middle of the night.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.
The ceasefire’s collapse comes after Iran fired missiles and drones at a US airbase in Kuwait, in retaliation for American airstrikes that Washington described as ‘self-defense strikes’ against the regime’s radar and drone command facilities.
Israel remains hesitant to include Lebanon in the ongoing ceasefire with Tehran, viewing that conflict as separate from the broader war.
The US has tried to mediate between Israel and Lebanon over the past few weeks, pushing for a temporary ceasefire while Trump negotiates a long-term peace agreement with Tehran.
Israeli forces over the weekend captured a strategic site in Lebanon, marking their deepest military incursion into the country in over 26 years.
Israel captured Beaufort Castle, a medieval fortress in southern Lebanon that it had held until its withdrawal from the country in 2000.
Israel remains hesitant to include Lebanon in the ongoing ceasefire with Tehran, viewing that conflict as separate from the broader war
Oil markets went into a frenzy following news of the ceasefire’s collapse, with crude prices climbing more than six percent
Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to ‘deepen and expand’ Israel’s ‘grip’ over territory that remains under the control of Hezbollah.
Previously, negotiations between the US and Iran were at a standstill, as both countries were divided over Trump’s demand that Tehran completely abandon its nuclear weapons program and surrender its stockpile of enriched uranium.
Trump is attempting to secure a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would delay official peace negotiations by another two months but result in the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
