Iran says any attack in Lebanon would violate ceasefire with US

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said the ceasefire between Iran and the United States applies to all fronts, including Lebanon.

In a statement on X, Araghchi said any violation on one front would constitute a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts.

He warned that the United States and Israel would be responsible for the consequences of any breach of the ceasefire.

The development comes amid continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon and speculation over the provisions of a potential US-Iran deal.

Earlier, on May 31, Israeli forces made their deepest incursion inside Lebanon since they withdrew from the country over a quarter-century ago, despite a nominal US-brokered ceasefire and the first direct Israel-Lebanon talks in decades.

On Sunday, Israeli forces seized a symbolic fort in southern Lebanon, Beaufort castle, perched at over 700 meters (3,000 feet) above sea level. It offers commanding views across Lebanon and into northern Israel. The site has been a military asset for close to a millennium.

Israel said it is targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, which has a strong political presence in southern Lebanon and has launched thousands of missiles and drones at Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon and at northern Israel.

In latest development, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, June 1, ordered the military to attack targets in the Lebanese capital Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.

“Following repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by the terrorist group Hezbollah and the attacks against our cities and citizens, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered the IDF to attack terrorist targets in the Dahiyeh district in Beirut,” a statement from Netanyahu’s office said.

US new proposal as Lebanon tensions escalate

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the diplomatic negotiations between Israel and Lebanon and has proposed a plan to allow for “gradual de-escalation,” a US official said on Sunday.

The US has proposed that as a first step, the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group would stop all attacks on Israel and in return Israel would refrain from escalation in Beirut, the official said.

“This would create space for gradual de-escalation and an effective cessation of hostilities,” according to the official.

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