WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered differing accounts of a call about the fighting in Lebanon, as the U.S. struggled to get efforts toward an Iran peace deal back on track.

The mismatched statements were the latest example of confusing signals on progress to end a war, now in its fourth month, that has killed thousands across the region and triggered a global energy crisis. Iran said Monday that it was suspending talks with the U.S. amid ongoing fighting in Lebanon — which Tehran has said must stop as part of a broader peace deal.

Trump said earlier Monday that after discussions with Israel and representatives from Hezbollah, a group that the U.S. deems a terrorist group, both had agreed that “Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel.” He also said talks with Iran were continuing “at a rapid pace” — countering earlier statements from Tehran.

Netanyahu, however, didn’t describe the arrangement in such sweeping terms. While he confirmed that Israel wouldn’t strike targets in Beirut so long as Hezbollah ceased its own attacks, he also said Israel’s campaign in southern Lebanon would continue.

“I spoke this evening with President Trump and told him that if Hezbollah does not stop firing at our cities and citizens – Israel will strike terrorist targets in Beirut,” Netanyahu said in a social media post. “This position of ours remain unchanged. Concurrently, the IDF will continue to operate as planned in southern Lebanon.”

Oil prices surged to session highs, with Brent rising above $97 a barrel, after the report that talks between Iran and U.S. were halting. Prices eventually pared some gains after Trump’s comments. Brent crude still ended the session up about 4% near $95 a barrel.

Trump has regularly claimed that negotiations were advancing and close to reaching a deal amid a fragile ceasefire. Iran disputed reports last week that an interim deal was close and on Monday said it would act with its proxies, dubbed the “Axis of Resistance,” against Israel if fighting in Lebanon continued.

Lebanon has received confirmation that Hezbollah agreed to the U.S. proposal. Israel’s planned attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs will be halted in exchange for the militant group ceasing its strikes, the Lebanese presidency said in a post.

The ceasefire should be expanded to include the entirety of Lebanese territories, with more negotiations taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday, the presidency said.

Iran has insisted any agreement with Washington must also cover Lebanon, where Tehran-backed Hezbollah and Israel are engaged in a parallel war. Israel deepened its invasion of Lebanon over the weekend, while Hezbollah stepped up attacks on Israel’s north.

Negotiators will suspend “the exchange of documents” with the U.S. through mediators, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday, citing a statement it didn’t attribute to any official or institution. Iran threatened a complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial conduit for oil and liquefied natural gas, according to the report.

Traders were particularly worried about further supply disruptions as the report mentioned that Iran and its allies are also considering closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial alternate path for oil to reach the global market while Hormuz has been largely blocked.

Trump earlier said he hadn’t heard from Iran regarding reports that it’s suspending talks, an NBC reporter said according to social media posts.

Washington and Tehran have been trading messages on a draft deal — which would likely see the two sides extend their ceasefire by around two months, with Iran reopening the strait and the U.S. lifting a blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump is under increasing pressure to end a war that’s sent energy prices surging and is unpopular with most Americans, while also seeking to placate Iran hawks who oppose any move to unfreeze Iranian funds as Tehran is demanding.

“Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end,” Trump said late on Sunday U.S. time, according to a social media post.

The Strait of Hormuz also has seen renewed clashes. The U.S. struck Iranian radar and command-and-control sites over the weekend, with the military saying it was a “measured” response to “aggressive Iranian actions.”

U.S. forces successfully intercepted two Iranian ballistic missile targeting American forces based in Kuwait, Central Command said Monday.

Here’s more on the Iran war:

—Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed regional developments and issues related to the ceasefire process in a phone call with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a Telegram post.

—Israeli airstrikes in response to renewed attacks by Hezbollah in March have devastated swaths of southern Lebanon and the capital, Beirut, and killed at least 3,433 people, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

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(With assistance from Carla Canivete, Courtney Subramanian and Devika Krishna Kumar.)

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