Iran’s president accuses Israel of seeking wider war in Middle East

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, left, arrives at a podium accompanied by the army commander General Abdolrahim Mousavi during an annual armed forces parade marking anniversary of the beginning of war against Iran by former Iraqi Dictator Saddam Hussein 44 years ago (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Iran’s president has accused Israel of seeking a wider war in the Middle East and laying “traps” to lead his country into a wider conflict.

Masoud Pezeshkian told about two dozen media representatives that Iran does not want to see the current war in Gaza and airstrikes across the Israeli-Lebanon border expanded.

He said while Israel insists it does not want a wider war, it is taking actions that show otherwise.

Mr Pezeshkian pointed to the deadly explosions of pagers, walkie-talkies and other electronic devices in Lebanon last week, which he blamed on Israel, as well as the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on the eve of his inauguration.