Iran FM accuses Israel’s Netanyahu of tricking US into war

<p> TEHRAN: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of tricking Washington into going to war with the Islamic republic, calling him a “serpent.”<br /> “In Hebrew, Netanyahu openly crows that he suckered the US Administration into a war on Iran on behalf of Israel. Netanyahu explicitly laughs about how he ‘influenced’ America through 1,000 hours of airtime on US networks,” Araghchi said in a post on X.<br /> “In English, he praises POTUS’ leadership. Serpent,” he added.<br /> War broke out between Iran and the United States on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes killing the Islamic republic’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei along with senior military officials.<br /> Iran retaliated with attacks across the region as the conflict continued to spread.<br /> An April ceasefire put an end to the most intense fighting, but sporadic attacks mainly near the Strait of Hormuz have dimmed prospects for a final peace agreement, and the US recently shifted toward a campaign of what it calls “economic asphyxiation” of Iran.<br /> The US struck the Iranian island of Larak late Sunday, its first such attack in a month. In response, Iran says it launched attacks on bases in Jordan and the UAE used by the US military.<br /> Last week, Netanyahu dismissed any prospect of an Iran-US deal and called Iran’s leaders “savages.”<br /> Netanyahu has long been skeptical of diplomacy with Iran, openly campaigning against a 2015 nuclear deal brokered by then US president Barack Obama, but he has been publicly careful not to criticize Trump while he sought a negotiated settlement.</p>