Iran says ceasefire with US covers Lebanon, warns of consequences

Iran's foreign minister declared Monday that the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington extends to all regional fronts, including Lebanon, warning that any Israeli strike on Hezbollah constitutes a breach of the entire agreement.

The statement puts Washington in a potential bind: if the United States cannot restrain Israel from striking Iran-backed Hezbollah, Tehran has signaled it may regard the broader truce as void and hold both governments responsible for the fallout.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted the warning to X after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered airstrikes on Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut.

"Violation on one front is a violation of the ceasefire on all fronts. The U.S. and Israel are responsible for the consequences of any violation," Araqchi wrote in the post.

The statement is Iran's most explicit effort to link its bilateral truce with Washington to the fate of Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group backed by Tehran. By framing the agreement as covering all fronts simultaneously, Iran is asserting that Israeli military operations against Hezbollah cannot be treated as separate from the broader Iran-U.S. ceasefire.

Netanyahu's decision to target Beirut's southern suburbs — a Hezbollah stronghold — came amid elevated regional tensions following the conclusion of the Iran-U.S. ceasefire. Iran's swift response indicates that Tehran views Israeli action against proxy forces as an indirect attack that activates the ceasefire's mutual obligations.

The confrontation now tests whether Washington can simultaneously honor its diplomatic arrangement with Tehran and its long-standing security commitment to Israel — a balance that may prove increasingly difficult to sustain.

The episode tests whether Washington can preserve a bilateral truce with Tehran while its ally Israel pursues military action against Iran-backed forces in Lebanon.