Iran warns Beirut attack would reignite war as US brokers Israel-Lebanon ceasefire terms.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Wednesday that any Israeli attack on Beirut would trigger a “full-scale resumption” of the wider regional war, as US-mediated talks between Israel and Lebanon continued in Washington.
Speaking to Lebanon’s pro-Hezbollah Al Mayadeen TV, Araghchi said the Lebanon front and the Iran-Israel-US conflict were inseparable. He threatened that Iran’s armed forces were prepared to strike Israel if Beirut were attacked.
“The fate of the war between Iran and the Zionists and Americans is inseparable from the fate of the battle in Lebanon,” Araghchi said, arguing that the fronts had been linked from the beginning.
His remarks came as Washington hosted a second day of direct Israeli-Lebanese negotiations, the fourth such round of talks. The US, Israel, and Lebanon later announced that the sides had agreed to implement a ceasefire, contingent on a complete halt to Hezbollah fire and the withdrawal of Hezbollah operatives from the South Litani Sector.
The proposed arrangement would place the Lebanese Armed Forces in sole control of designated areas in southern Lebanon, a key demand aimed at preventing Hezbollah from maintaining military infrastructure along the Israeli border.
Araghchi, however, insisted that ending the conflict in Lebanon also requires Israel’s full withdrawal from Lebanese territory. He said any ceasefire must be accompanied by what he called the end of Israeli “occupation” in areas captured during the fighting.
The warning underscored Tehran’s effort to tie the Lebanon front to broader regional diplomacy, even as Israel and the US have sought to keep negotiations with Lebanon separate from talks involving Iran. Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said Israel and Washington insist that Iran be disconnected from the Lebanon track.
President Donald Trump has previously expressed hope that peace between Israel and Lebanon could be achieved this year. He has also floated the possibility of hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Washington, though Aoun has ruled out a high-level political summit for now, saying the immediate priority is ending hostilities.
The latest ceasefire push remains fragile. Hezbollah rocket fire and Israeli strikes have continued to test the US-brokered framework, including attacks and interceptions reported Wednesday.
For now, Iran’s warning places a sharp red line around Beirut, while the US-led process attempts to convert battlefield restraint into a formal security arrangement. Whether that effort holds will depend on Hezbollah’s withdrawal, Israel’s military posture in southern Lebanon, and Lebanon’s ability to assert control south of the Litani River.
