Iranian media said on Monday that authorities halted talks with the U.S. over Israel's escalation in Lebanon and would activate its proxies to block the Strait of Hormuz and activate other fronts.
Tasnim news agency said Tehran and the "Resistance Front," including its allies in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq will also seek to block the Bab El Mandeb Strait to "punish" Israel and its allies.
Bab El Mandeb is located off the coast of Yemen and is another key waterway in the Middle East which controls sea traffic toward the Suez Canal in Egypt.
"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 said, according to the Times of Israel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a social media publication that the "ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon."
"Its 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," he added.
The outlet noted that Israel had largely refrained from targeting Beirut, but announced on Monday it would resume escalations as Hezbollah continued launching missiles and drones against northern communities.
"Following the repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the Hezbollah terror organization and the attacks against our cities and citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the IDF to strike terror targets in the Dahiyeh quarter of Beirut," the officials said in a statement.
Israeli forces also issued a wide-scale evacuation warning for all of southern Lebanon on Sunday.
Axios cited a U.S. official saying the country's stance against strikes in Beirut could soften as talks stall. "The U.S. does not expect Israel to absorb ongoing attacks on its civilians by a terrorist organization," the official said.
The outlet detailed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with top Lebanese and Israeli officials to push a new ceasefire, seeking for Hezbollah to halt strikes in exchange for Israel to avoid escalation in Beirut.
The official said Lebanese President Joseph Aoun was supportive, but the speaker of Lebanon's parliament, Nabih Berri, who has ties with Hezbollah, gave an "evasive and disappointing" response saying Israel should stop firing first.
Moreover, a senior Lebanese official said neither Hezbollah nor Israel want a ceasefire and the U.S. is not doing enough to rein in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
But the outlet also noted that Iran's Revolutionary Guards have been urging Hezbollah to escalate to use the situation as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
