Iran has reportedly suspended nuclear negotiations with the United States, citing Israel's ongoing military assault on Lebanon — a dramatic diplomatic rupture that arrived just hours after President Donald Trump told critics to "sit back and relax" and let him handle it.
Tehran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported the suspension Monday, saying the Iranian negotiating team was halting "talks and exchanges of texts through mediators." The reason: Israel's continued strikes on Lebanon, which Iran had set as a precondition for any ceasefire deal.
"Until Iran's and the resistance's position on these matters is satisfied, there will be no negotiations," Tasnim reported, adding that Tehran and allied militant groups have placed the "complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz" back on the table.
The announcement landed hours after Trump posted on Truth Social in the early morning, complaining that "Dumocrats" and "seemingly unpatriotic Republicans" were undermining his ability to negotiate by "negatively 'chirping'" about his approach.
"Just sit back and relax," Trump wrote, "it will all work out well in the end."
The diplomatic collapse comes as Trump faces a widening Republican revolt over the emerging deal's terms. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) have warned that the agreement too closely resembles the Obama-era nuclear deal Trump once scrapped. Former national security adviser John Bolton called it a "big defeat for the United States."
A CNN analysis last week warned the proposed deal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz while leaving Iran's nuclear program "largely unresolved" — and that gas prices have risen nearly $1.40 per gallon since late February, according to The Hill, darkening the political mood heading into midterms.
