Iran calls peace talks with US unreasonable as Israel pounds Lebanon

Iran has declared that pressing ahead with peace talks with the United States would be “unreasonable” after Israel unleashed a wave of deadly strikes on Lebanon, throwing fresh doubt over an already fragile ceasefire in the Middle East.

The warning was delivered by Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also a senior figure in Tehran’s negotiating camp. He said the atmosphere for diplomacy had been badly damaged after Israel escalated its military campaign in Lebanon, even though a two-week ceasefire had only just been announced by US President Donald Trump.

According to Reuters, Ghalibaf accused Israel of breaching the spirit of the truce by intensifying attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, while also criticising Washington for continuing to demand that Iran fully abandon its nuclear ambitions. That combination, he suggested, had drained what little trust remained from the negotiating process.

The United States and Israel, however, have insisted that the ceasefire with Iran does not extend to Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear that military operations against Hezbollah will continue, while Israeli officials have said their forces remain ready to act at any moment.

On the ground, the fallout was immediate and severe. Lebanese civil defence authorities said Israeli strikes on April 8 killed at least 254 people, in the deadliest day since Israel’s latest war with Hezbollah began. Reuters reported that more than 100 sites were hit across Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, with some attacks said to have landed without warning for civilians.

The United Nations condemned the assault, with UN human rights chief Volker Türk describing the casualty figures as appalling and the scenes of destruction as horrific. He also called for independent investigations into possible violations of international humanitarian law.

The latest violence has further complicated the already bitter dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme. Washington has maintained that Iran must halt uranium enrichment, while Tehran has rejected any suggestion that it should surrender that right altogether. That gap remains one of the central obstacles to any lasting settlement.

Despite the sharp deterioration in security, financial markets initially reacted with some relief. Global stocks rose and oil prices fell from recent highs, although energy markets remain highly sensitive because of the wider regional risks and continuing disruption tied to the Strait of Hormuz.

For now, both sides are still claiming they want the ceasefire to hold. But the conflicting interpretations of what the truce covers, especially over Lebanon, have exposed just how brittle the arrangement remains. With the nuclear dispute unresolved and military pressure still building on multiple fronts, the danger of renewed escalation has by no means disappeared.