Iran warns attack on Beirut will resume war, says no progress in US talks so far

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that lines of communication with the United States were still open, but "no tangible progress" has been made in negotiations to end the Middle East war.

"Communications with the Americans have not been cut off, and messages have been exchanged regarding the need to stop aggression against Beirut, but no tangible progress has been made in the negotiation process," the Tasnim news agency quoted him as telling Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV.

"Returning to the negotiating table is conditional on ensuring the rights of the Iranian people, ending the war in Lebanon, and stopping tensions in the region."

Araghchi also warned that any attack on Lebanese capital Beirut would trigger a "full-scale resumption" of the Middle East war, as ‘Israel’ pressed its campaign against Lebanese group Hezbollah.

"Any attack on Beirut will have grave consequences and will lead to a full-scale resumption of the war," Araghchi added.

"Our armed forces are ready to strike Israel if it attacks Beirut."

In contrast with the downbeat Iranian remarks, US President Donald Trump struck an optimistic note, telling reporters at the White House that the Iran talks could yield a result "over the weekend."

"I hear the negotiation itself is going very well actually," Trump said of a potential deal. "It could happen...over the weekend."

Trump also said he wants to separate talks on the conflict in Lebanon between ‘Israel’ and Iranian-backed Hezbollah and those on the war between the United States and Iran, although Tehran insists the two are linked.

"I'd like to separate it, I'd like to have a separate thing, because it is, it is separate," he said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpiles were at the center of discussions with Tehran and voiced hope that the latest round of talks in Washington between ‘Israel’ and Lebanon will produce a security roadmap.

Washington insists Tehran must turn over its near-weapons-grade enriched uranium, agree to curb its nuclear activities and re-open the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping channel for Gulf oil and gas, for any peace agreement to take hold.