On June 1, 2026, Iran's state-affiliated Tasnim news agency announced that Iranian negotiators would stop exchanging messages with the United States through intermediaries and that Tehran would move to fully close the Strait of Hormuz, in retaliation for what it called ongoing ceasefire violations and Israel's military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. “No dialogue will take place” until Israel withdraws from Lebanon and halts attacks there and in Gaza, the report said, adding that Iran had “resolved to completely block the Strait of Hormuz” and activate the Bab al-Mandeb Strait as well.
Oil prices jumped more than 7% on the news, signaling a breakdown in efforts to end a war now in its fourth month. The escalation came just days after Trump said he would decide, at a White House Situation Room meeting, whether to accept a deal that would at least pause the conflict. That meeting ended without a final decision, and in the following days the U.S. and Iran launched new attacks on each other.
Trump struck a dismissive tone. In a Truth Social post early that Monday, he insisted Iran “really wants to make a deal” while chastising critics who “keep negatively chirping” about his handling of the war: “Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end - It always does!” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi countered that the ceasefire applied “on all fronts, including in Lebanon,” and that the U.S. and Israel were “responsible for the consequences of any violation.” About a fifth of the world's oil passed through Hormuz before the war began February 28; traffic has been choked off ever since (see Iran Declares the Strait of Hormuz 'Completely Open' and Oil Plunges 10%, but Trump Says the Blockade 'Will Remain in Full Force', Trump Launches a War With Iran Without Congressional Approval, Killing the Supreme Leader, Bombing a School Full of Children, and Triggering a Regional War).
Trump shrugged off the breakdown. In a midday phone interview with CNBC's Eamon Javers on June 1, he said, “I don't care if they're over, honestly. I really don't care. I couldn't care less,” adding that the talks “started to get very boring.” He said he wasn't worried about the oil spike, predicting prices would be “dropping like a rock,” and argued Americans “are willing to pay a little bit more” once they understand the war is “all about Iran having a nuclear weapon.” Asked whether it was time to end the nominal ceasefire, he said, “Why would I tell you?” He said NATO allies “should come in and help us out” but added, “We don't need NATO. They were very, very weak and very sad.” Trump later posted that he had “a very productive call” with Netanyahu, that no troops would go to Beirut, and that Hezbollah had agreed through “highly placed Representatives” that “all shooting will stop.” Netanyahu countered on X that if Hezbollah keeps attacking, “Israel will attack terror targets in Beirut.”
Behind the “very productive” public framing, the call was reportedly explosive. Axios, citing two U.S. officials, reported that Trump berated Netanyahu over Israel's strikes in Lebanon: “You're f***ing crazy. You'd be in prison if it weren't for me. I'm saving your a**. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this.” Another source said Trump was “p***ed” and at one point yelled, “What the f*** are you doing?” Trump objected to Israel leveling buildings to kill a single Hezbollah commander and to the Lebanese civilian death toll, and a U.S. official said he “steamrolled” Netanyahu, who replied, “OK, OK just make sure everything is taken care of.” An Israeli source disputed the account to N12, saying there were no remarks about prison or Israel being hated and that the dispute was over “conflicting social media posts.”