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Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported on June 1 that the Islamic Republic’s negotiating team is stopping the exchange of messages with the United States through mediators due to Israel’s attacks in Lebanon.
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, to “punish” Israel and its supporters, according to the report.
Hormuz, which has been under de facto Iranian control since the start of the American-Israeli war on February 28, is a chokepoint for around 20 percent of global oil and gas shipments.
Shutting down Bab El Mandeb, which facilitates up to 12% of international trade between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, could be catastrophic for the energy market.
“The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon. Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on X on May 31, referring to Israeli operations in Lebanon.
Tasnim noted in its report that that “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.”
Echoing Araghchi, Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on June 1 the U.S. naval blockade of Iran’s ports since April 13, and the escalation in Lebanon, were “clear evidence of US non-compliance with the ceasefire.”
“Every choice has a price and the bill comes due,” Ghalibaf said in a post on X.
The Iranian decision to stop the exchange of messages with the U.S. is only a response to a clear escalatory behaviour by the U.S. and Israel.
The decision came after a heated night which saw the U.S. launching strikes against Iran in response to the downing of an American combat drone over the Persian Gulf.
The strikes were just one of many signs of U.S. intention to escalate. On June 1, a fresh video from Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport revealed that the number of KC-135 Stratotanker and the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling aircraft deployed by the U.S. there has reached around 60 — possibly an all time high since the start of the war.
It was also reported that up to 16 additional American tankers are reported to be deployed at Ramon Airport in southern Israel.
All in all, attempts to build trust between the U.S. and Iran have failed. America’s military build up and recent actions are likely the main cause.
The Islamic Republic’s latest decision is likely meant to pressure Washington, although it could be used by the U.S. and Israel as a pretext for more escalation.
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