An Iranian official has declared that 'war has already begun' with Israel as tensions between the two nations reach a boiling point.
Saeed Khatibzadeh, a spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, made the statement to the Maariv newspaper before going on to place the blame for the crisis in the Middle East squarely at the feet of Israel.
Khatibzadeh claimed that Israel 'has murdered nuclear scientists and harmed the Iranian people'.
'Iran is blamed for terrorism, but there is no good or bad terrorist. The entire crisis in the region is the fault of Israel,' he said.
His comments come just days after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett appealed to the international community for support in confronting Iran over their nuclear programme.
In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Bennett said Iran had breached all the 'red lines' aimed at curbing its nuclear weapons programme but that Israel 'will not allow' Tehran to get the bomb.
After claiming that an Iran-Israel war was already underway, the Iranian spokesman added that Israel 'had done everything' in an attempt to scupper nuclear talks with the UN in Vienna.
Khatibzadeh continued: 'Israel severely harmed our civilians and research system.
'They speak about the Iranian nuclear threat, but Israel has hundreds of bombs, and it never signed the non-proliferation treaty for nuclear weapons.'
Bennett also condemned Iran's perceived plans for the region and stands steadfastly against Iran's development of their nuclear programme.
'Iran´s great goal is crystal clear to anybody who cares to open their eyes: Iran seeks to dominate the region - and seeks to do so under a nuclear umbrella,' Bennett said on Monday.
He called Iran´s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, the 'butcher of Tehran' for his past role in suppressing political dissent and accused Iran of arming, funding, and training Israel´s enemies across the region.
