Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that a ceasefire in Lebanon remains a key condition for a deal with the United States amid escalating tensions inside the Lebanese territory.
“We insist that a ceasefire in Lebanon is an essential condition for any deal aimed at ending the war,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing, as Israel expands its offensive in Lebanon.
He clarified that there were currently no exchanges with the United States over the details of Tehran’s nuclear program.
“The United States is also violating the ceasefire including this morning,” he added, vowing that Iran will “take whatever measures we deem necessary to defend Iran’s national security”.
Tehran’s remark comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Monday that they had instructed the Israeli military to strike what they described as “terrorist targets” in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut.
Netanyahu said in a post on X, “In response to the repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist organization Hezbollah and the attacks against our cities and citizens, I have instructed the IDF, together with Defense Minister Israel Katz, to strike terrorist targets in the Dahiyeh district of Beirut.”
Katz also said, “Following the repeated and ongoing violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist organization Hezbollah and the attacks against our cities and citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have instructed the IDF to strike terrorist targets in the Dahiyeh neighborhood in Beirut.”
The announcement comes after U.S. pressure over the past two weeks on Netanyahu’s government to avoid expanding military operations into the Lebanese capital, amid concerns that such a move could undermine ceasefire arrangements and widen the confrontation with Hezbollah.
Those efforts coincided with U.S. diplomatic moves to reduce tensions on the Lebanese front, including proposals under which Hezbollah would halt attacks against Israel in exchange for Israel refraining from carrying out broad strikes inside Beirut. AFP/EIR
