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TEHRAN: Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of tricking Washington into going to war with the Islamic republic, calling him a \u201cserpent\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIn Hebrew, Netanyahu openly crows that he suckered the U.S. Administration into a war on Iran on behalf of Israel. Netanyahu explicitly laughs about how he \u2018influenced\u2019 America through 1,000 hours of airtime on U.S. networks,\u201d Araghchi said in a post on X.<\/p>\n \u201cIn English, he praises POTUS\u2019 leadership. Serpent,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n War broke out between Iran and the United States on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes killing the Islamic republic\u2019s supreme leader Ali Khamenei along with senior military officials.<\/p>\n Iran retaliated with attacks across the region as the conflict continued to spread.<\/p>\n An April ceasefire put an end to the most intense fighting, but sporadic attacks mainly near the Strait of Hormuz have dimmed prospects for a final peace agreement, and the US recently shifted toward a campaign of what it calls \u201ceconomic asphyxiation\u201d of Iran.<\/p>\n The US struck the Iranian island of Larak late Sunday, its first such attack in a month. In response, Iran says it launched attacks on bases in Jordan and the UAE used by the US military.<\/p>\n Last week, Netanyahu dismissed any prospect of an Iran-US deal and called Iran\u2019s leaders \u201csavages\u201d.<\/p>\n Netanyahu has long been sceptical of diplomacy with Iran, openly campaigning against a 2015 nuclear deal brokered by then US president Barack Obama, but he has been publicly careful not to criticise Trump while he sought a negotiated settlement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n