Tehran suspends talks with U.S. over Israeli attacks in Lebanon, Iranian media reports

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Monday suspended talks with the United States to protest Israel’s expanding military offensive in Lebanon, according to government-aligned media. “Due to the continuation of the Zionist regime’s actions in Lebanon and given that Lebanon was one of the preconditions of the ceasefire and that this ceasefire has now been violated on all fronts ... the Iranian negotiating team will suspend ‘talks and the exchange of texts through mediators,’” the semiofficial news agency Tasnim reported. The U.S. military and Iran exchanged strikes over the weekend and into Monday — the latest outburst of violence amid an ostensible ceasefire agreed to in early April. Tasnim added that the government would consider a full closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route that carried a fifth of the world’s oil supply before the war, with the aim of punishing Israel and its supporters. The government did not comment officially, although official statements are often transmitted through the media. U.S. officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Feb. 28, the U.S. and Israel launched the war that has since killed thousands of people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, as well as 13 U.S. service members. It has also sent global energy prices soaring after Iran responded by effectively shutting down the Strait of Hormuz. Negotiations over a broader agreement had been ongoing amid disagreements on several issues, including the future of Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.