Iran slams Israel over minister’s ‘Lebanon Must Burn’ Remarks

Tehran accuses Ben Gvir of promoting genocide after incendiary social media post

Iran has condemned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir over his call for Lebanon to “burn”, escalating the war of words amid growing tensions in the Middle East.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi described Ben Gvir’s remarks as evidence of what he called a dangerous and extremist ideology within Israel’s government.

“This is not a rant by a random genocidal lunatic. It’s a public post by the national security minister of the Israeli regime,” Araghchi wrote on X.

“The genocidal death cult headquartered in Tel Aviv is a threat to all of humanity. It threatens all humans. Its only interest is permanent war,” he added.

Araghchi’s comments came in response to a post by Ben Gvir in which the far-right Israeli minister declared: “For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn.”

Ben Gvir also rejected calls for restraint, urging Israel to “go berserk”, “obliterate” and “crush the terror” in its fight against Hezbollah.

The post was flagged by X for violating the platform’s rules but was allowed to remain online because it was deemed to be in the public interest.

The exchange underscores rapidly escalating rhetoric between senior Israeli and Iranian officials as fears grow that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah could spiral into a wider regional war.

Ben Gvir, one of the most hardline members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, has repeatedly called for more aggressive military action against Israel’s adversaries.

Ben Gvir’s incendiary comments are likely to deepen already growing tensions between Washington and Israel. The remarks come days after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly rebuked Israeli officials for criticising the United States, highlighting an increasingly fraught relationship between the longtime allies.