Iran threatens to “teach a lesson” if US attacks, Trump says ending war is “based on life”

President Trump said on Monday that Iran had informed his administration that it would allow the US to come in and help extract its most enriched uranium, but Tehran backed off from its latest ceasefire proposal.

“They changed their mind, because they didn't put it on paper,” said Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

He said that, in addition to controlling uranium, the US wants Iran to “make sure that there are no nuclear weapons for a very long time and a few other small things, but they can't get there. So they agree with us and take it back.”

Iran has not publicly agreed to give up its enriched uranium, and the regime insists that its nuclear program has always been peaceful – for energy, medical and research purposes – and that it is the country's legitimate right.

Mr. Trump on Sunday dismissed Iran's response to the latest US deal as “absolutely unacceptable.”

Qatar's state-backed news outlet, Al-Jazeera, said Iranian negotiators proposed transferring the country's enriched uranium to Russia, but Washington rejected the idea and asked for it to be transferred to a third country, which Iran refused.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Tuesday his Iran-backed group's weapons stockpiles were not part of future talks between Lebanon and Israel, and vowed that Hezbollah would turn the battlefield into “hell” for Israeli soldiers.

“Nobody outside of Lebanon has anything to do with arms, resistance … this is an internal matter for Lebanon and is not part of negotiations with the enemy,” Qassem said in a written statement ahead of the third round of talks in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli representatives on Thursday and Friday.

Hezbollah has criticized direct talks between Lebanon and Israel as “appeasement.”

“We are facing Israeli-American violence that wants to dominate our country Lebanon and make it part of Greater Israel,” said Qassem.

“We will not give up and we will continue to defend Lebanon and its people, no matter how long it takes and how great the sacrifice… we will not abandon the battlefield and we will turn it into a hell for Israel,” he added in a statement, addressed to the group's fighters and broadcast on Al-Manar television channel, as the fighting continues in Lebanon despite the ceasefire.

CBS/AFP

Israel has sent Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and personnel to work in the United Arab Emirates to defend the country during the Iran war, the US ambassador to the country said on Tuesday.

Mike Huckabee commented on stage at an event in Tel Aviv, Israel.

“I would like to say a word of thanks for the United Arab Emirates, the first member of the Abrahamic covenant,” said Huckabee at the Tel Aviv Conference. “Just look at the benefits. Israel just sent them Iron Dome batteries and crews to help them operate them.”

The United Arab Emirates, a confederation of seven sheikhdoms in the Arabian Peninsula, officially recognized Israel in 2020.

The UAE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Huckabee's admission, although it emphasized the growing defense ties between countries that have long suspected Iran.

Israeli strikes on a southern Lebanese city killed six people and wounded seven, state media said on Tuesday, as fighting continued despite a ceasefire agreement.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that Israeli strikes on Monday night hit a house in Kfar Dounine, a town 59 kilometers from Beirut.

NNA reported that the injured were taken to hospitals in the coastal city of Tyre.

Israel has stepped up its offensive in southern Lebanon as it trades with Iran-backed Hezbollah despite an April 17 ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese government aimed at ending hostilities.

More than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon since the country was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2, according to health authorities.

Lebanese leaders recently urged the US ambassador in Beirut to pressure Israel to stop its attacks during the truce, even though Israel has also announced that it will be attacked.

Israel's military said at the weekend that one of its soldiers was killed in fighting along the Lebanese border, making 18 soldiers and a contractor missing since the war began.

The NNA on Tuesday reported that there are strikes near some cities in southern Lebanon, and the Israeli army has ordered the evacuation of many Lebanese cities.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said on Tuesday that his Iran-backed group's weapons were not part of the upcoming talks between Lebanon and Israel, and vowed that his forces would turn the battlefield into “hell” for the Israeli army.

Iran's parliament speaker said his country's military was ready to “teach a lesson” to any aggressor on Monday, after President Trump warned of an end to conflict in the Middle East.

“Our soldiers are ready to respond and teach a lesson for any violence,” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on social media. “Bad strategy and bad decisions always lead to bad results – the world already understands this.”

As Pakistan positions itself as a bridge between Tehran and Washington, it has quietly allowed Iranian military jets to park at its airfields, which may be able to defend themselves against American drones, according to US officials familiar with the matter.

Iran has also sent civilian planes to park in neighboring Afghanistan. It's unclear whether military aircraft were among those flights, two officials told CBS News.

Together, the moves represented an apparent attempt to protect Iran's remaining military assets and aircraft from an escalating conflict, as officials publicly acted as brokers to reduce the force.

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry told CBS News that the report was “misleading and sensational.”

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Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, President Trump said on Monday that the suspension of Iran is “based on life” after the “garbage” response Iran sent to the US.

“It's unbelievably weak, I would say,” the president replied when asked if the ceasefire was still in place.

“I'll call it weak, right now after reading the garbage they sent us. I haven't even finished reading it, I said they're going to waste my time reading it. I'd say it's one of the weakest, right now, it's on life support.”