In a message posted on his X account on Saturday, Araqchi described Netanyahu as a wanted war criminal whose actions have cost Arab, American and Iranian lives.
“Netanyahu is a wanted war criminal with Arab, American & Iranian blood on his hands. To escape justice, he has no regard for his own people either,” the Iranian foreign minister wrote.
“Like a degenerate gambler, he's desperately seeking to save himself with more U.S. blood and treasure. Even U.S. Senators want out,” Araqchi added.
His remarks come amid renewed scrutiny of Netanyahu’s handling of the events leading up to the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led operation and the subsequent Israeli war on Gaza. In a recent interview with Israel’s Channel 12, Maj. Gen. Avi Gil, who served as Netanyahu’s military secretary from July 2021 to May 2024, said security officials had repeatedly warned that internal divisions in Israeli society were eroding the regime’s deterrence and encouraging its adversaries to perceive an opportunity. Gil said these concerns had been communicated at multiple levels, although he did not claim that officials had specifically predicted the scale of the October 7 attack.
Gil, who informed Netanyahu of the attack on its morning, also alleged that the Israeli public had not been given the full picture of the discussions and warnings preceding it, describing significant gaps between what the public knows and what actually transpired. Netanyahu rejected Gil’s account, arguing that his former aide had failed to wake him in time and was attempting to deflect responsibility.