Iran's Negotiator Ghalibaf Declares Diplomacy with the US Pointless After Attacks on Beirut

Escalation in Beirut and Response from Tehran

From Tehran, a spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded on state broadcaster IRIB with a threat: "There is no doubt that these crimes will not go unanswered." A senior Iranian official declared on Sunday that the attack on Beirut would not go "unpunished." This raises concerns about further escalation in the region.

The ceasefire in Lebanon has formally been in force since April 17. Nevertheless, Israel and Hezbollah continue to carry out daily attacks on each other. Hezbollah claimed responsibility on Sunday for several attacks on Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon but initially reported no attacks on northern Israel. The Israeli army reported three drone attacks from Lebanon, which it attributed to Hezbollah, as well as two impacts of suspected projectiles near the border with no injuries.

Iran's Negotiator Questions Diplomacy

Against this backdrop, Iran's chief negotiator Ghalibaf called into question the ongoing talks with the US. "If you do not have the will or the ability to fulfill your obligations, then it is pointless to talk about continuing down this path," he wrote on the platform X. In a further post he stated: "If you (USA) have neither the will nor the ability to fulfill your obligations, then one cannot continue the diplomatic path either."

The Iranian government ties an agreement with Washington to a comprehensive ceasefire that also includes Lebanon. Trump had recently announced on several occasions that a deal with Tehran was imminent and had suggested a signing would take place on Sunday. Esmail Bakaei, however, stated that a final decision had not yet been made; the exact signing date would fall "in the coming days," not on Sunday.

Hard Rhetoric in Israel and Blocked Negotiations

As early as the previous week, an Israeli attack on Beirut had killed two people and triggered a new wave of mutual attacks between Israel and Iran – the first since the ceasefire came into force. Tehran had assessed the attack at the time as a turning point and responded with rocket fire on Israel. Iranian statements said the attack had "crossed all red lines."

The tone of harshness is also growing within the Israeli government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wrote on X that he had asked Prime Minister Netanyahu to "destroy buildings in Dahieh." Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir declared: "For every drone, a rocket."

Hezbollah rejects the existing ceasefire and sees itself confirmed in its stance by the attacks. Should the Iranian leadership actually abandon the diplomatic path, further escalation threatens, in which regional violence would be directly linked to the stalling of negotiations in Washington.