Iran war: Trump says talks moving ‘rapidly’ as Tehran threatens to suspend dialogue over Lebanon

United States President Donald Trump on Monday said that peace talks with Iran were continuing “at a rapid pace”, a day after Iranian media reported that Tehran had suspended negotiations in response to Israel’s military actions in Lebanon.

In a social media post, Trump said that he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and asked him not to carry out a major raid on Beirut. He claimed that Netanyahu had “turned his troops around”.

Trump also said he had spoken, through representatives, with Hezbollah leadership and that both sides had agreed to stop hostilities.

“Let’s see how long that lasts – hopefully it will be for eternity,” the US president added.

However, in a statement, Netanyahu appeared to question the ceasefire claim.

However, Netanyahu said that while he had spoken to Trump, Israel would continue to strike targets in Beirut if Hezbollah did not stop attacking Israeli cities and citizens, adding that “this stance of ours remains unchanged”.

He added that the Israel Defense Forces would continue operations in southern Lebanon as planned.

Meanwhile, Axios reported that tensions between Trump and Netanyahu escalated during an “expletive-laden” phone call on Monday after Israel announced plans to expand military operations in Lebanon, including strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Quoting US officials and another person briefed on the conversation, Axios reported that Trump criticised Netanyahu, calling him...

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