TEHRAN – Iran’s foreign minister has lambasted recent comments by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling Tel Aviv as “the source of instability in the region.”

Abbas Araghchi’s reaction on the X platform came after Netanyahu said in an interview that America wants “a strong and independent Israel, because that is the anchor of security in the Middle East.”

In his X post, the top Iranian diplomat noted that this so-called “anchor of security in the Middle East” is wanted for genocide and war crimes.

In a ruling that drew worldwide attention in November last year, The International Criminal Court (ICC) found “reasonable grounds” to conclude that Netanyahu and Former Israeli War Minister Yoav Gallant bear “criminal responsibility” for systematic war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Subsequently, the court issued arrest warrants for the two officials. 

Netanyahu denounced the ruling as an “anti-Semitic decision."

Israel asked the court in May to dismiss the warrants while pursuing a separate challenge over whether the ICC had jurisdiction in the case. The court rejected that request on July 16, stating there was “no legal basis” to quash the warrants while the jurisdiction issue was pending. 

Also in his remarks, Araghchi lashed out at Netanyahu for ordering acts of aggression against other nations, saying Israel has bombed 7 countries over the past year.

Israel has so far killed nearly 70,000 Palestinians since launching the genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, before a ceasefire deal was reached in the strip last month.

The Tel Aviv regime has also carried out strikes in Qatar, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.

In Qatar, Israel launched airstrikes on the headquarters of Hamas in what was described as an "assassination operation" that claimed the lives of several members of the movement as well as a Qatari security officer. The Hamas members were meeting to discuss a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

In September, leaders of Arab and Islamic countries warned that Israel’ strikes on Doha were a serious threat to regional peace and stability.

Tunisia was another victim of Israel’s strikes as the regime attacked the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which Tunisia dismissed as a “pre-planned assault.” However, the flotilla vowed to keep sailing toward the besieged Palestinian territory, despite successive Israeli attacks. They eventually got arrested by Israeli forces and were prevented from giving their aid to Gazans.  

Before that saga, the Israeli regime launched an unprovoked war against Iran on June 13, assassinating many high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians. 

Also in his post, the Iranian foreign minister denounced Israel’s occupation of Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian territory.

Israel has occupied Palestinian territories for decades.

In a recent development, Israeli forces seized about 17 acres of Palestinian land in the northern occupied West Bank, despite growing international condemnation of its ongoing land-grab policies.

Earlier this year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said that the Israeli policy of expanding and consolidating settlements across the occupied West Bank amounts to “a war crime.”

Since October of 2023 Israeli troops have gradually occupied parts of southern Lebanon, as well as new areas in Syria, adding to the Syrian Golan Heights the regime has been occupying since 1967. 

Tel Aviv is supported by the West, especially the United States, and presses ahead with its crimes with impunity despite international condemnation. Analysts believe Israel is likely to continue with its acts of aggression, and launch new wars against Iran, Yemen, and Iraq in the coming months.