An Iranian woman walks past an anti-Israeli mural on a street in Tehran, Iran, May 30, 2026. (Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
BEIRUT — As tensions between Israel and Hezbollah continue to escalate in south Lebanon, and Beirut’s southern suburbs are once again under threat following an Israeli army evacuation order, Tehran raised the stakes on Monday, warning of the possibility of opening “new fronts” if its “red lines” are crossed.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened to open “new fronts” in response to Israel’s offensive in Lebanon, according to Iranian state television.
"Iran considers crossing the red lines in Lebanon and Gaza to mean direct war," state TV quoted the Guards' intelligence organization as saying, adding that they are “determined to carry out defensive operations” and to “open new fronts,” in reference to Israeli operations in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
In the same vein, Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned that if Beirut’s southern suburbs were targeted, “we warn the residents of northern Israel that they will have to evacuate those areas.” Another senior Iranian official, Mohsen Rezaee, said that “escalating tensions in Lebanon will not be tolerated,” adding that “the patience of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran has its limits.”
The semi-official Tasnim news agency also reported that Tehran had suspended its negotiations with the United States aimed at ending the war in the Middle East. According to the agency, the decision is linked to the “crimes” committed by Israel in Lebanon and to violations of the Iranian-American cease-fire concluded on April 8. “The Iranian negotiating team is therefore suspending dialogue and the exchange of texts through mediators,” Tasnim said.
On the ground, a source close to Hezbollah told AFP that the group “will not stop shelling northern Israel” in response to Israeli threats against Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“Hezbollah will not commit to halting its shelling of northern Israel,” the source said on condition of anonymity. “Why stop these strikes, which are hurting Israel, while it continues to bomb Lebanon?”
The remarks came after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Monday that there would be “no calm” in Beirut and its southern suburbs unless Hezbollah halted its attacks.
A U.S. official said Sunday that Washington had proposed a plan under which “Hezbollah would have to end all its attacks against Israel” in exchange for an Israeli commitment not to escalate the situation in Beirut.
