Iran says end of Gaza war ‘means end of Netanyahu’

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to prolong the war in Gaza but the region is moving toward stability.

At a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Beirut on Saturday, Amir-Abdollahian said the war "is not the solution" but the end of the war "means the end of Netanyahu."

Amir-Abdollahian, who arrived in Beirut on Friday, held wide-ranging talks with Lebanese officials as well as leaders of Palestinian groups based in Lebanon on Saturday.

The visit came as the US has accused Iran-aligned groups in Lebanon and Iraq of carrying out attacks on US and allied forces in the region, including in the Red Sea.

Speaking to reporters following talks with Habib, Iran's foreign minister said both countries agree that war is not the solution and they do not seek to expand it.

However, he hastened to add that any large-scale Israeli attack on Lebanon would be the “end of Netanyahu” and his “extremist” Cabinet.

Amir-Abdollahian said the Israeli prime minister is "trying to hold the White House hostage" in order to retain power, echoing what he has said many times in recent weeks that Israel seeks to drag the US into a wider regional conflict.

He further stated that the resistance of Palestine, especially Hamas, has "acted wisely and accurately" both on the battlefield and in the political arena, noting that Israel has failed to reach its stated goals.

The death toll in the besieged Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 has reached nearly 28,000, even as the Israeli premier has given orders for the ground invasion of Rafah in the coming weeks.

Iran's foreign minister said the US moves in two different directions simultaneously, supplying weapons to Israel and talking about a political solution, adding that if Washington seeks peace, it must stop the war.

"It is the White House that must choose whether to remain hostage to Israel or focus on a solution and an end to the war," he remarked, adding that Israel will not be able to continue the war "even for an hour" without US support.

He also touched on the string of attacks on ships linked to the US and UK in the Red Sea in recent weeks by Iran-aligned Houthis, saying the Yemeni group seeks to exert pressure to stop the war on Gaza.

On the next leg of his two-nation tour, Iran's foreign minister is scheduled to visit Syria on Sunday.