Israel seeks to drag US ‘into fighting wars on its behalf,’ Iran’s foreign minister says

ISTANBUL

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that Israel has always tried to draw the US into wars fought “on its behalf.”

“Israel has always sought to drag the US into fighting wars on its behalf. But remarkably, this time they are saying the quiet part out loud,” Araghchi wrote on the US social media company X, quoting a post by Tamir Morag, a diplomatic affairs correspondent for Israel’s Channel 14.

Araghchi said Iran’s streets are “soaked in blood,” accusing Israel of boasting about arming protesters, which he said was behind “hundreds of deaths.”

He added that if US President Donald Trump wants to stop the killing in Iran, he should address Israel to prevent the arming of protesters.

“With blood on our streets, Israel is explicitly gloating about having ‘armed protestors with live weapons', and this is the reason for the hundreds of dead,” Araghchi said.

Morag earlier wrote on X that “Foreign elements are arming the protesters in Iran with live weapons, and this is the reason for the hundreds of dead among the regime's people.”

“Anyone is free to guess who we're talking about,” he added.

Meanwhile, the US mission in Saudi Arabia advised its personnel and American citizens on Wednesday to exercise "increased caution" in the region amid ongoing tensions.

US officials have escalated rhetoric against Iran amid anti-government protests that have swept the country since late last month over worsening economic conditions.

On Tuesday, Trump told CBS News that Washington would take “very strong action” if Iranian authorities carried out executions of protesters.

Iranian government officials have accused the US and Israel of backing what they describe as “riots” and “terrorism” amid the ongoing protests.

Iranian authorities have not released official figures on casualties or detainees. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a US-based group, estimates that at least 2,500 people have been killed, including protesters and security personnel, and more than 1,100 others injured.