Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Monday that Iran would be in a “direct confrontation with the enemy” if Israel doesn’t halt its attacks in Lebanon.
Ghalibaf made the comments in a post on X recounting a conversation he had with Nabih Berri, the speaker of Lebanon’s parliament and leader of the Amal Movement, a Shia political faction that’s largely aligned with Hezbollah.
“In my conversation with my brother, President Nabih Berri, I affirmed that if the Israeli aggression against Lebanon continues, we will not only halt the path of negotiations, but we will also be in direct confrontation with the enemy,” Ghalibaf said in Arabic.
“Long live the Resistance. Long live the defense of the land. And long live the brotherhood between the Lebanese and Iranian peoples,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Iranian media reported that Tehran halted negotiations with Washington over Israel’s continued attacks and escalations in Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Israel planned to launch strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, but appeared to have backed down after a call with President Trump. Iran had also warned that it could target northern Israel if Netanyahu went ahead with the strikes.
Trump claimed in two posts on Truth Social after his call with Netanyahu that some sort of ceasefire had been agreed to, though Israeli attacks continue in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah continues to fire at Israeli forces.
“I had a conversation with Bibi Netanyahu today, asking him not to go into a major raid of Beirut, Lebanon. He turned his Troops around. Thank you Bibi!” Trump said in his second post on Truth Social.
“I also had a conversation with Representatives of the Leaders of Hezbollah, and they agreed to stop shooting at Israel, and its soldiers. Likewise, Israel agreed to stop shooting at them. Let’s see how long that lasts — Hopefully it will be for ETERNITY!” he added.
There’s no sign that US officials actually spoke with Hezbollah leaders, as media reports have said that the US has been speaking with Berri, who relayed messages from Hezbollah.
Netanyahu made clear in his statement on the call that he intended to continue the war in southern Lebanon. “Tonight, I spoke with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not cease attacking our cities and citizens—Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut,” he said. “This stance of ours remains unchanged. In parallel, the IDF will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon.”
Axios reported that Trump had lashed out at Netanyahu during the call, calling him “fucking crazy” over Israel’s escalations in Lebanon, but, according to Israeli media reports, the US and Israel have previously put out leaks about the two leaders being at odds to keep Iran off guard. An Israeli official also told Ynet earlier on Monday that Israel had coordinated with the US on the threat to attack Beirut.
