Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the occupying regime of Israel would not last long, lashing back at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who again accused Iran of destabilizing the region.
"Despite Netanyahu's claims, the fact is that illegal occupation lies at the heart of most of the calamities in our region. Historically, occupying another's land has never been sustainable. This occupation, too—and the apartheid system that perpetuates it—will not last long," Zarif said in a Twitter message on Tuesday.
Netanyahu took aim at Iran in his address to the annual pro-Israel AIPAC policy conference in Washington, claiming the Islamic Republic is responsible for "darkness descending" on the Middle East by building an anti-Israel bloc.
"Darkness is descending on our region… We must stop Iran, we will stop Iran," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by AP.
He renewed his attack on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, saying it had made the world more dangerous. And, he praised US President Donald Trump for threatening to withdraw from the accord if it is not toughened.
He claimed that as he predicted the sanctions relief had made Iran "more extreme and belligerent".
Tehran denies the accusations that its regional activities are destabilizing and has rejected Trump's demand to rein in those activities.
Netanyahu's comments came a day after he met Trump at the White House and thanked him for his decision to recognize Beit-ul-Moqaddas as Israel's capital and move the US Embassy there.
"It is especially great to be in America's capital now that [Trump] has recognized Jerusalem [Beit-ul-Moqaddas] as Israel's capital," he said. "Thank you, President Trump for that historic decision."
The controversial step has infuriated the Palestinians, who want the holy city for the capital of an eventual state and have now rejected US mediation in efforts to resume so-called peace talks with Israel.
Trump has said his team is working on a peace proposal but it has remained a mystery and there is no timetable for it to be presented.
