ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Iranian foreign ministry on Tuesday said that US President Donald Trump’s “expressed desire for peace” is in contradiction with his hostile policies toward Iran, stressing that Washington must be “held accountable” for its participation in Israel’s brutal campaign in Gaza.

In the presence of other world leaders, Trump on Monday signed a peace plan with Middle East heads of state in Egypt, aiming to bring the war in the Gaza Strip to a permanent halt. Consisting of 20 points, the Trump plan has garnered widespread support and has been accepted by Israel, Hamas, as well as many regional actors.

Under the plan, Hamas released 20 Israeli hostages on Monday in two batches, among a total of 48 living and dead hostages set to be released as part of the agreement. The US president told reporters that the war was “over”, upon boarding Air Force One to head to Israel on Monday.

“The complicity and active participation of the US in the Zionist regime’s genocide and war-mongering in occupied Palestine is not hidden from anyone, and the US must be held accountable for its role in the Zionist regime’s impunity, including preventing any effective action against Israel in the UN Security Council, as well as obstructing international judicial processes to try Israeli criminals,” read a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry on Tuesday.

The US has repeatedly used its veto powers at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to block calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza amid soaring casualties on the ground. On September 18, the US for a sixth time vetoed a draft resolution to immediately cease hostilities in the Strip and open humanitarian corridors to deliver much needed aid.

The International Criminal Court in November 2024 issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant following an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated during the Gaza war.

The court said it found reasonable grounds that Netanyahu and Gallant each bear “criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” as co-perpetrators.

“The US interventionist policies in the region, support for the occupation and crimes of the genocidal Israeli regime, along with unlimited arms sales to the region, have made the US the biggest factor in instability and insecurity in the region,” the Iranian ministry added.

Tens of billions of US dollars have been funneled into Israel’s military by the US since the breakout of the Gaza war in October 2023, with Washington also using its diplomatic might to assist Israel in prolonging its brutal campaign in the Gaza Strip. Over 67,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the breakout of the war across two years.

As the war in Gaza kept raging on, Israel also struck Iran in June, targeting Tehran’s top military officials, nuclear enrichment facilities, and key economic infrastructure. The conflict concluded after 12 days, when the US joined Israel’s side and struck Iran’s key nuclear facilities.

The Iranian foreign ministry said that the US president’s claimed desire for peace is “in conflict with the US’ hostile and criminal behavior against the Iranian people.”

The Israeli strikes on Iran and subsequent US involvement came amid ongoing negotiation between Tehran and Washington to reach an understanding regarding Iran’s nuclear enrichment program. The talks fell through following Israel’s attack.

“How can one invade a country’s peaceful residential areas and nuclear facilities in the midst of political negotiations and martyr more than a thousand people, including innocent women and children, and then claim peace and friendship!?” the ministry posed.

Iran maintains a hardline approach to Israel and stands opposed to a two state solution to the Israel-Palestine issue.