Trump Says Troops Turned Back From Beirut After Netanyahu Call

In a brief phone call on Monday, Trump told NBC News that he had not been informed of Iran's reported decision to suspend negotiations over Israel's escalation in Lebanon, but“I think it's fine if they're done talking.”

“It's an appropriate thing to say, because they're better negotiators than they are fighters,” he continued.“But they haven't informed us of that.” He added:“It doesn't mean we're going to go and start dropping bombs all over there.”

That comment notably came after the Trump administration launched new strikes against Iran over the weekend, and the Iranians attacked US military installations in the Middle East.

“We'll keep the blockade,” Trump told NBC.“If they don't want to talk, that's OK with me. I think it's fine. I don't particularly want to talk either. We talk too much.”

However, shortly after that, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that he“had a very productive call” with Netanyahu,“and there will be no Troops going to Beirut, and any Troops that are on their way, have already been turned back.”

“Likewise, through highly placed Representatives, I had a very good call with Hezbollah, and they agreed that all shooting will stop - That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel,” Trump continued. Less than 15 minutes later, he added that“talks are continuing, at a rapid pace, with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

While Iran's leadership had not publicly confirmed that talks were halted on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media that“the ceasefire between Iran and the US is unequivocally a ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon. Its violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts. The US and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation.”

Iran's chief negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, similarly said:“The naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon by the genocidal Zionist regime are clear evidence of US noncompliance with the ceasefire. Every choice has a price, and the bill comes due. It will all fall into place.”

Responding to Israel“dramatically escalating its military campaign” in southern Lebanon and Tasnim's reporting on negotiations, Sina Toossi, a senior nonresident fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington, DC, concluded that“the Iranian message is increasingly clear: no Lebanon ceasefire, no broader framework, and potentially no talks at all.”

“The talks are in a vicious cycle: progress, escalation, backtracking,” he noted.“Many in Iran suspect Trump is trying to bring down the 'floor' for oil prices ahead of more war. And Israel is doing everything it can to derail diplomacy by turning southern Lebanon into another Gaza.”

The“Gaza playbook” Israel is now using in Lebanon, Toossi said, features“scorched-earth tactics, mass displacement, and the ethnic cleansing” of its neighboring nation.