Senior Iranian lawmaker says Netanyahu’s government was collapsing under Iranian strikes
A senior Iranian lawmaker said Tehran accepted a halt to the war with Israel while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government was “collapsing under Iran’s heavy strikes."
“It might have been better not to have agreed to stop the war so soon,” said Fada-Hossein Maleki, a member of parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, in an interview with Didban Iran. “When we accepted, Netanyahu’s government was under pressure.”
Maleki called the current arrangement a “pause in fighting,” not a lasting ceasefire, and warned it could break down. “This stop is itself part of the war process,” he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that the country had paid a high cost in lives during its recent conflict with Israel and the United States, but had not yielded ground or dignity.
Speaking on the day of a state funeral in Tehran for those killed in the 12-day war, Araghchi said Iran’s losses would be remembered as a symbol of national resistance.
“Iranians gave blood, not ground; lost their children, but not their honor,” he said in a post on his official Instagram account. “They stood under thousands of tons of bombs, and did not surrender.”
Araghchi said physical infrastructure could be rebuilt over time, but “the pride of a nation is more valuable than anything.” He described the war as a moment that would “shine like a jewel” in Iran’s long history, and said the country had emerged “stronger and more dignified.”
Iran held a funeral ceremony in Tehran on Saturday for dozens of people killed during the 12-day conflict with Israel, including senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.
Senior Iranian officials attended the event and delivered remarks touching on a range of themes, including national unity, military resilience, and nuclear oversight.
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