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Iran was suspending all exchanges with the United States via mediators on Monday, Iranian news agency Tasnim reported, as the two sides remained apart on a deal to end the Middle East war.
“Given the continuing crimes of the Zionist regime (Israel) in Lebanon and considering that Lebanon was one of the preconditions for the ceasefire and that this ceasefire has now been violated on all fronts, including Lebanon, the Iranian negotiating team is suspending dialogues and exchange of texts through mediators,” Tasnim reported.
The agency said Iran and the Resistance Front, which includes its Shiite allies in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq, have set an agenda to completely block the Strait of Hormuz and activate other fronts, including the Bab El Mandeb Strait, in order to “punish” Israel.
If the Houthis, Iran’s allies in Yemen, open a new front in the conflict, one obvious target would be the Bab El Mandeb Strait off the coast of Yemen, a key shipping chokepoint and narrow passageway that controls sea traffic towards the Suez Canal.
“Violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts. The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X on Monday, referring to Israeli operations in Lebanon.
“The immediate cessation of the Zionist regime’s aggressive and brutal army operations 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 there will be no talks until Iran and the resistance’s views on this matter are met,” Tasnim added.
OIL PRICES JUMP
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped and equities slid as Middle East peace talks stumbled and tensions mounted between Iran and the Unites States.
Crude futures shot more than five percent higher as an Iranian news agency announced Tehran had suspended the negotiations with the United States via mediators.
The United States and Iran had traded strikes over the weekend and Tehran had insisted that any deal to end the war must cover Israel’s escalating offensive into Lebanon.
The report by the Tasnim news agency cited the breakdown of the ceasefire and clashes in Lebanon as the reasons for the halt in suspending dialogue.
After the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran at the end of February, Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas normally flow.
While a ceasefire has largely held since mid-April, traffic through the strait has been scant and negotiations have dragged on.
While Wall Street had been set for a higher open, the spike higher in oil prices turned the tide, with the three main indices sliding as trading got underway in New York.
Agence France-Presse
