The president of the Iranian Parliament, Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf, has warned that if Israel does not stop attacking Lebanon, Tehran will suspend the negotiation process to end the conflict triggered by the offensive launched by Israeli and US forces against the Islamic Republic on February 28.
Read more Iran threatens to halt the negotiation process if Israel does not stop its attacks against Lebanon
“If the Israeli aggression against Lebanon continues, we will not only suspend the negotiation process but also confront the enemy directly,” Qalibaf emphasized in a message posted on social media referring to a conversation held with his counterpart in Lebanon, Nabih Berri.
These statements by the Iranian chief negotiator, in which he also defended the “brotherhood” between the Lebanese people and those of Iran, have been supported by the head of the National Security Commission of the Iranian Parliament, Ebrahim Azizi, who stressed that “if the attacks against Lebanon are not completely stopped, there will be serious consequences for the Zionist regime and US forces in the region.”
“They are fully aware that this is not an empty threat and we are prepared for a military response,” he warned in a social media message, joining other senior Iranian officials who have threatened to respond to the intensification of Israeli bombings against Lebanon and the deepening of its ground invasion despite the ceasefire agreed in April.
Statements from Tehran come hours after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that Israel will not finally attack the Lebanese capital, Beirut, after having held a “very productive” conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I had a very productive call with Israeli Prime Minister ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu and there will be no troops going to Beirut and the troops that were on the way are already returning,” the White House occupant indicated in a message posted on social media in which he also stated having held a telephone dialogue with members of the Lebanese Shiite party-militia, Hezbollah, who “have agreed to stop shooting.” “Israel will not attack them and they will not attack Israel,” he added.
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Hours earlier, the Republican magnate assured that “it’s okay” if Iran suspends negotiations, arguing in statements to NBC News that this would be “something logical” since, in his view, “they are better negotiators than fighters.”
Netanyahu stated last week that the Israeli Army is “intensifying” its offensive in Lebanon, where more than 3,400 people have already died from this cause since early March, despite ongoing negotiations with the Lebanese government to try to reach a peace agreement.
The latest large-scale hostilities broke out on March 2, when Hezbollah launched projectiles against Israel in response to the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the offensive launched on February 28 by Israel and the United States against the Asian country.
The parties had agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024 after thirteen months of continuous fighting following the attacks of October 7, 2023, although since then Israel continued to launch frequent bombings against the country and maintained the presence of military personnel at several points arguing that it was acting against Hezbollah, amid complaints from Beirut and the group about these actions.
