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Iran suspended negotiations with the Trump administration on Monday over a proposed extension of the ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, blaming intensified Israeli military operations in Lebanon and disagreements over terms in the emerging agreement.
An Iranian official familiar with the negotiations told The Washington Post that Iran paused discussions because of Israel’s expanding campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Despite reports of stalled negotiations, Trump insisted discussions were ongoing.
“Talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he wrote Monday on Truth Social.
The negotiations had focused on extending a ceasefire reached in April and launching a new phase of talks concerning Iran’s nuclear program and shipping access through the Strait of Hormuz. The diplomatic tensions unfolded alongside renewed military exchanges in the Persian Gulf and escalating violence in Lebanon.
The U.S. military said over the weekend that it carried out strikes against Iranian radar and drone facilities near the Strait of Hormuz after Iran shot down an American drone flying over international waters.
According to United States Central Command, the strikes targeted Iranian air defenses, a ground control station and two attack drones near the coastal city of Goruk and on Qeshm Island. U.S. officials said the assets threatened commercial shipping in the region.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps later announced retaliatory missile launches from Khuzestan province toward Kuwait, claiming the strikes responded to a U.S. attack on a telecommunications tower on Sirik Island.
Kuwait’s military said its air defenses intercepted incoming missiles and drones and reported no casualties or major damage. Aviation operations across parts of the Gulf region were temporarily disrupted.
Violence also intensified in Lebanon after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced expanded strikes against Hezbollah positions. Civilians fled southern sections of Beirut following evacuation warnings and reports of new attacks. Iranian officials argued that the ceasefire agreement with Washington applied to all regional fronts, including Lebanon.
“The ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts including in Lebanon,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X. “Violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts.”
