Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks to prolong the genocidal war in Gaza but the region is moving toward stability, Anadolu news agency reported.

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” and that the end of the war “means the end of Netanyahu.”

Amir-Abdollahian reportedly held talks with Lebanese officials and with leaders of Palestinian groups based in Lebanon.

Speaking to the press, Iran’s foreign minister said both countries agree that war is not the solution and they do not seek to expand it.

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

"Throughout 127 days of aggression on #Gaza, the Israeli entity has failed to achieve any of its declared objectives."

– #Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian from #Beirut. https://t.co/5gk1AcrPYd

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 10, 2024

Amir-Abdollahian also said that the Israeli prime minister is “trying to hold the White House hostage” in order to retain power, seeking to drag the United States into a wider regional conflict.

“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 was quoted by Anadolu as saying, adding that Israel will not be able to continue the war “even for an hour” without US support.

The Resistance of Palestine, especially Hamas, has “acted wisely and accurately” both on the battlefield and in the political arena, according to the top Iranian official, who added that Israel is failing on all fronts.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah received Iranian 🇮🇷 Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
Hezbollah said the parties discussed recent regional political and security developments, specifically in Gaza & southern #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/KK1ZdQm8hV

— Zeina Khodr (@ZeinakhodrAljaz) February 10, 2024

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 28,064 Palestinians have been killed, and 67,611 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 8,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all of the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

(PC, AA)