Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "serpent", accusing him of tricking Washington into going to war with the country. "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. "In English, he praises POTUS' leadership. Serpent," he added. War broke out between Iran and the United States on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei along with senior military officials. Iran retaliated with attacks across the region as the conflict continued to spread. 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. 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 Jordan and the UAE. Last week, Netanyahu dismissed any prospect of an Iran-US deal and called Iran's leaders "savages".
