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‘Iran Will School Them’: Araghchi Warns Israel of Heavy Retaliation Over Israel Katz’s ‘Death Threat’ Against Mojtaba Khamenei

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned Israel of a powerful response after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "marked for death". Invoking the newly active Islamabad MoU, Araghchi called on President Trump to "muzzle" Tel Aviv, emphasizing that threats to Iranian leadership will face immediate retaliation even as indirect peace talks unfold in Doha.
ND
by News Desk
2026-07-01
‘Iran Will School Them’: Araghchi Warns Israel of Heavy Retaliation Over Israel Katz’s ‘Death Threat’ Against Mojtaba Khamenei

Detailed Report

  • The Flashpoint Threat: Tensions between Tehran and Tel Aviv escalated sharply on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, following highly provocative comments from Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz regarding Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. Speaking at a memorial ceremony for the 2006 Lebanon war, Katz declared that Khamenei was officially "marked for death" and asserted that Israel retains the structural right to attack Iranian targets a third time "if it deems it necessary," completely independent of the diplomatic tracks currently being pursued by Washington. Katz added that Israeli forces intend to remain indefinitely in specialized "security zones" across Lebanon, Syria, and Gaza.

  • Tehran’s Severe Rebuke: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivered an immediate, scathing response via his official account on X, attaching a transcript of Katz's remarks. Invoking the regional security understandings brokered through intensive Pakistani shuttle diplomacy earlier this year, Araghchi stated: "The terms of the Islamabad MoU are crystal clear and public for all to see. POTUS has committed the US to muzzling its pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will school them." He strongly reinforced that any physical or strategic threat directed at Iran's civilian population or its core leadership would trigger an immediate and powerful response.
  • The Proximity Diplomacy in Doha: This heated war of words erupted exactly as low-level, indirect technical talks commenced in Doha, Qatar. White House envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff arrived in the Qatari capital to conduct foundational sessions alongside Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, layout parameters for the 60-day peace tracker, and monitor stabilizing oil flows. However, the physical proximity remains strictly disconnected, as both US and Iranian teams are negotiating through intermediaries rather than sitting at a unified table.
  • Domestic Blowback in Israel: Simultaneously, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced an unexpected political mutiny at home from former military chief and current Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot. Eisenkot publicly accused Netanyahu of deliberately fabricating intelligence data regarding Iran's immediate nuclear weapons capacity to induce panic ahead of Israel's impending general elections. Eisenkot fiercely slammed Netanyahu’s recent right-wing Channel 14 interview—where the Prime Minister claimed he had personally authorized incursions into Iran to save Israel from atomic bombs already in Tehran's hands—labeling the statements "repugnant" and entirely detached from reality.
Tagged:

#AbbasAraghchi #IsraelKatz #MojtabaKhamenei #IslamabadMoU #USIranTalks #DohaDiplomacy #MiddleEastTensions #BreakingNewsInternational
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