WANA (Jun 19) – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has strongly criticized recent remarks by Israel’s National Security Minister, describing them as evidence of a broader ideology that thrives on conflict and poses a threat beyond the Middle East.

 

In a statement released on Friday, Araghchi responded to comments made by Itamar Ben-Gvir, arguing that the remarks were not the words of an isolated extremist but those of a senior Israeli government official. He warned that the ideology represented by such statements threatens humanity as a whole and is driven by a commitment to endless confrontation and violence.

 

Writing on X, Araghchi stated that what he described as a “genocidal death cult” based in Tel Aviv poses a danger to all people and seeks only to perpetuate continuous and unending war.

 

His comments came in response to a recent social media post by Ben-Gvir, in which the Israeli minister used highly inflammatory language regarding Lebanon. In the post, Ben-Gvir advocated harsh retaliatory measures and made statements widely interpreted as endorsing collective punishment and the infliction of suffering on Lebanese civilians. He also rejected diplomatic approaches aimed at achieving peace and stability in the region.

 

Meanwhile, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also adopted a confrontational tone, referring to recent military losses as a “difficult morning” and declaring that the time had come to respond with “the language of fire” and to “open the gates of hell.”

 

The exchange comes amid ongoing Israeli military operations in Lebanon and rising tensions along the northern front. The increasingly aggressive rhetoric from senior Israeli officials has heightened concerns over a potential escalation of the conflict and further diminished prospects for a diplomatic resolution in the region.