Iran is ending indirect talks with the US after Israel ordered troops to push deeper into Lebanon to fight Tehran-backed Hezbollah, complicating diplomatic efforts to end the three-month war, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.
Tasnim reported that the Islamic Republic’s negotiating team was ceasing to exchange messages with Washington through intermediaries over the attack on Lebanon, where the US-Israeli war against Iran has reignited Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah.
The move represents a further setback to hopes for a quick end to the crisis, after Iran said it had attacked a US air base following US strikes on Iranian military targets over the weekend, further straining the fragile truce.
Oil prices rose by more than five dollars per barrel after Tasnim’s report.
US President Donald Trump has previously reiterated on social media that he believes Tehran wants to reach a deal. However, hopes for progress were dampened by comments from Iranian officials who criticized the “ever-changing” US negotiating stance.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also mentioned Lebanon, where another ceasefire is in effect, as a stumbling block.
(Vijesti.ba/Fena)
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