Iran War Will End ‘Only When It Ends In Lebanon’, Iranian Foreign Minister Says – The Epoch Times

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stands waiting to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on June 23, 2025. Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Iran’s foreign minister reaffirmed support for its Lebanese ally ​Hezbollah and said that a wider war with the United States can only be ended if Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon.

“This war will end only when it ends in Lebanon as well,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Lebanese broadcaster Al Mayadeen late on Thursday.

Since the start of the U.S.–Iran conflict, Israel’s military and Lebanon-based terrorist group Hezbollah have attacked one another while Israeli forces have also entered the southern part of the country.

“The end of the war on Lebanon must be accompanied by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they have occupied,” Araghchi said.

The comments from the foreign minister came amid negotiations between Tehran and Washington, which have been ongoing for more than a month amid a sometimes shaky ceasefire.

The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted at the start of March, two days after the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran. Hezbollah said its actions were in support of Tehran.

Israel has kept up strikes in southern Lebanon and has said its forces would not withdraw or halt operations in the country. Hezbollah, meanwhile, said on Friday it had carried out two attacks on Israeli troops in south Lebanon.

Aside from Araqchi’s comment, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said through state-run Tasnim News on Thursday that it is calling for a halt to Israeli strikes in Lebanon, echoing the demand that Israel withdraw its forces.

On Thursday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at the Oval Office that he believes there is progress being made in ending the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

“That’s been going on for a long time,” he said. “You know, when you look at that, for years and years, 48 years. I say, ‘Well, let’s get this settled. How long has it been going on?’ ‘Forty-eight years.’ I said, ‘That’s a long time.’ Not that easy.”

The Iranian navy claimed through Tasnim that it fired warning shots at American ships in the Gulf of Oman, and that it caused the vessels to flee. The claim was promptly denied by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) on social media.

“Despite the expansion of the distance between enemy vessels and the range of the missiles used, should the need arise, this force (Iran’s Navy) will employ missiles with longer ranges,” the Iranian navy said.

CENTCOM wrote that Iran’s naval “forces did NOT attack or fire at U.S. Navy warships” and that “doing so would be ​a gross violation of the ceasefire” between the two countries that was announced in April and extended at least twice. “U.S. forces continue to operate freely in regional waters while fully enforcing the ongoing blockade against Iran,” it added.

The U.S. and Iranian governments have been engaged in mostly indirect negotiations to secure a deal to halt hostilities. Araghchi earlier this week said that the talks are still underway, while Trump disputed claims earlier this week that Tehran stopped communicating with the White House.

Reuters contributed to this report.