Stirring Trump-Netanyahu pot, Iranian FM says Israel ‘meddling’ in US policy
Using US president’s dramatic social media style, Araghchi says PM trying to ‘brazenly DICTATE’ what US can do, with ‘Netanyahu-First’ American officials trying to tank nuclear deal
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday issued a statement seemingly aimed at US President Donald Trump, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of attempting to drag Washington into “disaster” in the Middle East and “meddling” in US policy.
“Netanyahu is directly MEDDLING within the US Government to DRAG it into another DISASTER in our region,” Araghchi wrote on X, warning against “ANY mistake against Iran.”
Araghchi also accused Netanyahu of “attempting to brazenly DICTATE what President Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran.”
“Netanyahu CONNED the Failed Biden Team into handing over UNPRECEDENTED 23 BILLION American Taxpayer Dollars. That is a FRACTION of the cost of ANY mistake against Iran,” he said.
“The Netanyahu-First minority, terrified of diplomacy, has already divulged its real agenda. The world should pay attention as it reveals its true priority,” the top Iranian diplomat said.
Araghchi said that Washington’s “LETHAL support” for Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Trump’s “WAR on behalf of Netanyahu in Yemen have achieved NOTHING for the American people,” referencing US support for the war against Hamas, which was started by the terror group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, and the recent US military operations against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, in response to the group’s near-daily attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping with missiles and drones.
LETHAL support for Netanyahu's Genocide in Gaza and waging WAR on behalf of Netanyahu in Yemen have achieved NOTHING for the American people.
Netanyahu is attempting to brazenly DICTATE what President Trump can and cannot do in his diplomacy with Iran. The world has also learned… pic.twitter.com/E35C611O9q
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) May 5, 2025
Araghchi, using Trump’s ubiquitous social media style of capitalization and exclamations, appeared to be targeting the president with his statement, making sure to use Trump-esque terms like “Failed Biden Team” and “Netanyahu-First” to appeal to Trump.
His tweet also included an image lifted from a January article in Jewish Insider about the rift in Trump’s administration over foreign policy, which quoted pro-Israel think tank CEO Mark Dubowitz as saying that if the isolationist views of US Vice President JD Vance trump those of Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who are seen as hawkish, then a deal with Iran could be made.
“The deal with Iran should be avoided at all costs, because all it is going to do is put Israel in a much weaker position,” Dubowitz said in the article linked in Araghchi’s tweet.
His statement came a day after a report that Netanyahu was privately frustrated with Trump’s Middle East policies, especially regarding his desire to reach a nuclear deal with Iran, his support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the recent firing of national security adviser Mike Waltz, who was seen as more hawkish on Iran.
A different report published last week said that Trump was angered by Waltz’s position on Iran and coordination with Netanyahu on military options to destroy Tehran’s nuclear program, contributing to his dismissal last week.
In light of the reports of frustrations from both Trump and Netanyahu in regards to their respective foreign policy positions, Iran’s foreign minister was seemingly attempting to stir the pot between the leaders and appeal to the president’s “America-first” views with his Monday tweet.
The remarks came after the latest round of nuclear talks with the US, which were scheduled for May 3, were delayed over what mediator Oman termed “logistical reasons.”
The two countries have held three rounds of talks since April 12, their highest-level contact since Washington withdrew from a landmark deal with Tehran in 2018, during Trump’s first term as US president.
On Sunday, Trump said he would only accept “the total dismantlement” of Iran’s nuclear program, but also signaled openness to discussing allowing Tehran to maintain some nuclear program strictly for civilian energy use.
“Now, there’s a new theory going out there that Iran would be allowed to have civilian (program) — meaning to make electricity,” he told NBC News, adding that he “would be open to hearing” the argument.
The United States and other Western countries have long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons — a claim Tehran denies, insisting that its atomic program is solely for civilian purposes.
However, Iran, which openly seeks Israel’s destruction, has accelerated production of 60 percent enriched uranium, an enrichment rate far above what is needed for civilian uses and a short technical step from weapons-grade uranium. It also continues to develop its ballistic missile capabilities.
In his Monday tweet, Araghchi reiterated that if the goal was for Iran to not have a nuclear weapon, “a deal is achievable and there is only ONE PATH to achieve it: DIPLOMACY based on MUTUAL RESPECT and MUTUAL INTERESTS.”
Israel is reportedly deeply concerned that the US is closing in on a “bad deal” with Iran that will not meet Jerusalem’s stated essential conditions, that Israel believes the negotiations are “very, very advanced,” and that the US is not sharing enough information with Israel on key specific issues.
Netanyahu has long insisted that Israel will not allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons, and has been vocally opposed to any talks that don’t lead Tehran to agree to a “Libya-style agreement,” under which its entire nuclear program, both military and civilian, would be dismantled completely.
The Times of Israel Community.