TEHRAN - Iran has issued a stern warning to the United States and Israel over violations of the ceasefire that paused their joint aggression against Iran. 

Iran’s Parliament Speaker and top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said on Monday that the continuation of the US naval blockade against Iranian ports and Israel’s escalation in Lebanon amount to a direct breach of the truce. 

“The naval blockade and escalation of war crimes in Lebanon by the genocidal Zionist regime are clear evidence of U.S. noncompliance with the ceasefire,” Qalibaf wrote on X. He added, “Every choice has a price, and the bill comes due. It will all fall into place.” 

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also noted that Israel’s war on Lebanon constitutes a violation of the Tehran-Washington ceasefire.

“For immediate attention: 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,” the top Iranian diplomat wrote on X on Monday. 

Iran’s military echoed the same stance. "The leaders of the brutal Zionist regime and its supporters are warned that the continued savage crimes against Lebanon will not be tolerated by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces.

Washington’s broken promises 

The ceasefire between Iran and the US on April 8 paused the US-Israel war that initially began on February 28. Before the April 8 ceasefire was finalized, Iran explicitly communicated to the US that halting Israel's war in Lebanon was among its mandatory conditions. According to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Donald Trump had fully agreed to this condition at the time. 

Tehran and Washington have since exchanged multiple proposals to permanently end the war, but Trump continues to shift his positions amid diplomatic efforts—mainly mediated by Pakistan—to reach a lasting agreement. The first round of Pakistani-mediated talks between Tehran and Washington, headed by Qalibaf, failed in Islamabad on April 11 due to what Iranian officials call the Trump administration’s “excessive” demands. Following the failure of those talks, Trump ordered a naval blockade of Iranian ports. 

Furthermore, the truce has been directly undermined by continued American military aggression. The US has carried out attacks in southern Iran despite the April 8 ceasefire, targeting sites on Qeshm Island and other areas. In response, Iran's powerful armed forces have struck the origins of these attacks located in Persian Gulf countries, including a recent retaliatory strike in Kuwait. 

Trump shifts positions 

Amid recent optimism that Iran and the US were in the process of finalizing a memorandum of understanding (MoU), American media outlets reported over the weekend that Trump has toughened the terms of the potential agreement and sent it back to Iran for consideration. Iran has already stressed that guarantees of non-aggression, lifting the US blockade on Iranian ports, removing US sanctions, unfreezing Iranian assets, recognizing Iran’s authority over the Strait of Hormuz, and ending Israeli strikes in Lebanon are among its conditions for any deal with Washington. 

Netanyahu's desperate sabotage

Amid Iran’s full control over the Strait of Hormuz, Trump needs a deal with Iran as the February 28 war has driven up energy prices globally, and inside the United States. Gas prices have jumped to over $6 per gallon in some US states, and inflation has spiked amid the wider repercussions of the conflict. Trump’s popularity has also hit a record low, and he remains under fire for lacking a coherent strategy toward the war on Iran. Additionally, the ongoing implications of the conflict could deal a severe blow to the Republicans and their supporters ahead of the midterm congressional elections. 

While Trump wants an off-ramp to extricate the US from the quagmire of the war with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who views a permanent state of war as a political lifeline—continues to goad the US president into avoiding a deal. A prolonged conflict successfully diverts attention away from Netanyahu's domestic woes, including his ongoing corruption charges.

On Monday, Netanyahu instructed the military to bomb the southern suburbs of Beirut, marking the most serious escalation of Israel’s war in Lebanon since a supposed ceasefire was announced on April 17. 

In response, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Major General Ali Abdollahi, warned people in northern Israel to flee if Israel carries out the threat. “Given the regime’s repeated violations of the ceasefire, we warn residents of northern areas (in Israel) and military settlements in the occupied territories to leave the area if they do not wish to be harmed should this threat be carried out."

Israeli strikes have not stopped despite the April 17 truce, and have killed more than 800 people in Lebanon since its announcement. On the whole, the current conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which began in early March, has claimed the lives of 3,300 people in Lebanon, including children and first responders. On Sunday, the Israeli military captured the medieval Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, marking its deepest advance into the country since its 18-year occupation of the region ended in 2000. 

The Israeli escalation in Lebanon is aimed at sabotaging a potential deal between Iran and the United States, as halting the regime’s strikes in Lebanon remains a core Iranian condition to permanently end the war. Consequently, it appears to many analysts that Israel is pulling the strings of US foreign policy.

The US costly miscalculations

Israeli media revealed last week that the Mossad is convinced that if Trump refuses to sign an agreement with Iran and maintains pressure on Iranian ports, regime change could occur by the end of 2026. This, alongside destroying Iran’s military capabilities, was a primary objective of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran. However, after 39 days of war failed to achieve these goals, Trump originally accepted the ceasefire with Iran. 

According to experts and US officials speaking to American media, Trump’s war on Iran was based on a severe miscalculation. It seems Trump is making another miscalculation as he continuously shifts his positions regarding a final deal.

Iran maintains that it is open to talks with the US but does not trust Washington. Tehran has warned that any new act of aggression will be met with a more crushing response. Iran previously carried out 100 waves of missile and drone attacks against Israel and American bases in the Persian Gulf region during the 39 days of war. These strikes dealt severe blows to US equipment and installations, exposing vulnerabilities in the US defense system. 

Ultimately, the choice now rests entirely with Washington. By maintaining an illegal naval blockade and turning a blind eye to Israeli atrocities in Lebanon, the United States has chosen a path of clear noncompliance, shattering the very foundation of the April 8 truce. As Qalibaf firmly warned, every choice carries an unavoidable price, and the bill for Washington’s bad faith is now coming due. Iran has already proven its capacity to deliver a crushing response on all fronts; if Trump refuses to rein in Israel’s aggression in Lebanon and honor the commitments he made through Pakistani mediation, the strategic and political fallout will fall entirely back on the United States. In the face of Iranian resilience, retribution is inevitable, and as Qalibaf stated, "It will all fall into place."