DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran stopped communicating with mediators after Israel threatened to bomb Beirut as it fights the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah, two semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported Tuesday.
Halting communication likely is a means to further pressure U.S. President Donald Trump over negotiations on the ceasefire, which include trying to loosen Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas passed in peacetime. Trump then could potentially pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt or slow the advance of his forces, which have moved deeper into Lebanon.
WATCH: U.S. and Iran send mixed signals as Israel's invasion extends deeper into Lebanon
Hezbollah remains one of Iran's chief allies in its self-described "axis of resistance" against Israel.
Meanwhile, year-on-year inflation in Iran reached a level in May unseen since World War II, underlining the economic pain average Iranians face as the Islamic Republic worries about the war with Israel and the United States restarting.
