IRAN PERSPECTIVE

Tehran has turned an Iranian threat into a diplomatic lever in less than 24 hours. On Monday June 1, as the Israeli army crossed the Litani River and seized the medieval Beaufort Castle, the Tasnim agency — close to the Revolutionary Guard Corps — announced the suspension of indirect talks with Washington and a green light for the Houthis to block the Bab el-Mandeb strait. Within hours, Trump was calling Netanyahu. Iran International coverage (London-based, hostile to the regime but closely watched in Tehran) highlights two strategic facts. First, the Iranian establishment's calculation is now that the Islamic Republic has emerged from the war with more leverage than expected — its nuclear program remains unresolved, its army has absorbed the losses without collapse, and Washington is still negotiating. Yaakov Katz, an Israeli-American journalist quoted by Iran International, puts it plainly: 'I fear the Iranians are doing what they're doing because they feel they have the upper hand.' Second, Tehran is trying to broaden the negotiating perimeter beyond the nuclear file, imposing Lebanon as a precondition. If Washington accepts, Iran can use Hezbollah to apply pressure in every future round. Meanwhile Netanyahu vows at the Mossad handover that 'the Iranian regime will fall in the end.' New Mossad director Roman Gofman pledges to continue the 'covert war' against Iran. Tehran publicly records these statements as justifications for its own counterstrikes. At the same time, hardliner street rallies in Tehran — described by Iran International as 'street pressure' against the negotiation — reveal an internal fracture: the regime cannot sign a visible deal with Washington without alienating its hardest base.