Tehran, Iran – The US and Iran traded strikes Monday as negotiations between the two sides stalled and Tehran again insisted any peace deal must also cover Israel's escalating offensive into Lebanon.
Weeks of indirect talks marked by stark threats and several waves of air strikes have so far failed to end the war or reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The latest exchange of fire coincided with Israel expanding its offensive into Lebanon, with Prime Minister Netanyahu vowing to push deeper into the country and instructing the military to strike "terror targets" in a southern district of Beirut.
The US has backed Israel's operations in Lebanon against the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, while still trying to come to an agreement with Iran to end the war it launched in late February.
But Iran again said Monday it had not yet reopened any nuclear negotiations and insisted that Israel must halt its offensive in Lebanon before any wider deal to end the war can be agreed.
The US naval blockade on Iran's ports and the escalation in Lebanon were "clear evidence of US non-compliance with the ceasefire", Iran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on X.
Iran's conditions
"We insist that a ceasefire in Lebanon is an essential condition for any deal aimed at ending the war," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a weekly news briefing. He added, "The United States is also violating the ceasefire, including this morning."
A truce in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah formally began on April 17, but it has never been observed.
Israel has pursued a ground offensive into southern Lebanon, raising its flag over a medieval castle that served as a base during its two-decade occupation of the country in the 1980s and 1990s.
Netanyahu called the retaking of the Beaufort stronghold "a dramatic shift" and vowed to continue the fight against Hezbollah, with strikes and incursions ever deeper into Lebanon.
"We know when it is necessary to act on nuclear matters," Baqaei said in the press conference, adding, "No negotiations have taken place on the details of the nuclear file. At this stage, our priority is ending the war."
Over the weekend, the US military said it had carried out "self-defense strikes" on Iranian radar and drone control sites – its third such wave in just over a week – this time in response to the downing of a US MQ-1 drone.
Shortly afterwards, Iran's Revolutionary Guards told state media they had targeted an airbase used by the US military from which the attack originated.
The Guards did not identify the country said to be hosting the base, but the Kuwaiti military said its air defence had intercepted "hostile missile and drone attacks."
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday on the widening Israeli offensive, diplomatic sources told AFP.