ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters on Monday issued an evacuation notice for residents in northern Israel and its military settlements, should Israel go through with its threats to bomb southern Beirut under the pretext of targeting Hezbollah.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement earlier on Monday, saying they have instructed the military to strike suspected targets in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

“In light of the [Israeli] regime's repeated ceasefire violations, if this threat is implemented, we warn residents of the northern parts and military settlements in the occupied territories to leave the area if they do not want to be harmed,” read a statement from the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, carried by Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB.

Israel cited alleged “repeated violations of the ceasefire in Lebanon by Hezbollah and the attacks against our cities and citizens” as the pretext of the renewed aggression.

In response to the threats, Iran announced earlier on Monday that it has halted communications through mediators with the US and moved to “completely” blockade the Strait of Hormuz, and to “activate” Yemen’s Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Iran has maintained time and again that Lebanon is an integral part of its negotiations with the US, and any ceasefire, or permanent agreement must also resolve the conflict in Lebanon.

The hostilities present yet another episode of tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, as a fragile US-brokered ceasefire in mid-April has failed to keep the conflict at bay.

The Israeli aggression and Iran’s response come as US-Iran negotiations gained considerable momentum in recent weeks.

US President Donald Trump’s said in late May that an agreement was “largely negotiated” with the Iranian side and awaited finalization, following a series of indirect negotiations through Pakistani mediators.