This handout picture released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO) shows Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) posing for a picture with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, ahead of their meeting on July 28, 2026. (Credit: GPO/AFP)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of tricking Washington into going to war on Iran, calling him a "serpent."
"In Hebrew, Netanyahu openly crows that he suckered the U.S. 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 U.S. networks," Araghchi said in a post on X. "In English, he praises POTUS' leadership. Serpent."
On Feb. 28, the U.S. and Israel launched a series of unprompted strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic republic's supreme leader Ali Khamenei, several senior military officials, and hundreds of people.
Iran retaliated with attacks across the region as the war continued to spread.
An April cease-fire 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 U.S. recently shifted toward a campaign of what it calls "economic asphyxiation" of Iran.
The U.S. 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 U.S. military.
Last week, Netanyahu dismissed any prospect of an Iran-U.S. deal and called Iran's leaders "savages."
Netanyahu has long been skeptical of diplomacy with Iran, openly campaigning against a 2015 nuclear deal brokered by then U.S. president Barack Obama, but he has been publicly careful not to criticize Trump while he sought a negotiated settlement.
