Trump says Iran talks 'moving along rapidly,' contradicting Tehran

President Donald Trump asserted on Monday that negotiations with Iran are "moving along rapidly," directly countering Tehran's assertion that it had suspended talks. Iran had claimed to halt discussions in protest of Israel's offensive in Lebanon, with its foreign minister stating that the U.S. and Israel would be held accountable for violating a ceasefire.

Trump, speaking after a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and communication with Hezbollah, announced that Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to de-escalate fighting. However, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that a "blatant violation of the ceasefire on a single front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts." Tasnim News Agency, close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported that Tehran was pausing its participation in talks aimed at ending the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

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Negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran are proceeding, and it is moving along rapidly.

Trump told NBC News he had not been notified of Iran's suspension but suggested he might prefer less talk. "If you want to know the truth, I think we've been talking too much," he said, adding that silence might be beneficial. He indicated that the U.S. would not immediately resort to military action if talks collapsed but would maintain its blockade on Iranian ports.

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If you want to know the truth, I think we've been talking too much. I think silence would be golden, and that might be for a long time.

The apparent breakdown in negotiations followed a U.S. strike on Iranian radar and drone sites over the weekend. Tehran claimed to retaliate by targeting a military base in Kuwait involved in the U.S. operation. The suspension of talks highlights Tehran's anger over Israel's offensive in Lebanon, which intensified on Monday with an evacuation order for residents in southern Beirut.

Iranian military officials warned that if Netanyahu continued bombing Beirut or its southern suburbs, northern Israel and other military targets within Israel would face attacks. Tasnim also reported that Tehran would ask Yemen's Houthi rebels to initiate a second naval blockade in the Bab al-Mandab strait. The rising tensions pushed oil prices close to $100 per barrel.

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A blatant violation of the ceasefire on a single front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts, and the United States and Israel will bear responsibility for this.