Iranian foreign minister says Israel’s only interest is ‘permanent war’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Israel’s only interest is “permanent war,” responding to remarks by the extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calling for Lebanon to be “burned” after four Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon.

In a post on the US social media company X, Araghchi said Ben-Gvir’s comments were “not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic” but “a public post by the national security minister of the Israeli regime.”

“The genocidal death cult headquartered in Tel Aviv is a threat to all of humanity,” Araghchi wrote. “It threatens all humans. Its only interest is permanent war.”

His remarks came after Ben-Gvir called for a major escalation in Lebanon following the Israeli army’s announcement that four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon.

“With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not forfeit. All of Lebanon must burn,” Ben-Gvir wrote on X.

He added that he had told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “even in our private meetings” that “for every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep.”

“Enough with the ping-pong. In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint—you need to go berserk. To obliterate. To crush the terror,” Ben-Gvir said.

Despite a US-Iran deal that includes provisions aimed at ending hostilities in Lebanon, Israeli intensified strikes after midnight.

Earlier on Friday, at least 31 people were killed and several others injured in a series of Israeli attacks on southern and eastern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s official news agency (NNA).

According to the latest official figures, Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon, which began on March 2, has killed 3,912 people, injured 11,873 others, and displaced more than one million residents.

During the recent military campaign, Israeli forces advanced more than 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanese territory.