DUBAI, July 26. /TASS/. Iranian President-Elect Masoud Pezeshkian criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress.

"Neither can the crime of killing innocent people and helpless children be ignored, nor can the criminal be purified with a standing ovation. The blood of the innocent will never leave the oppressor," the politician said on his X page.

On July 24, Netanyahu delivered a speech at the joint session of the Senate and the US House of Representatives, during which he stated that the military operation in the Gaza Strip will be completed when the Palestinian movement Hamas lays down its arms and releases the hostages. Netanyahu called for a security alliance in the Middle East "as opposed to the growing Iranian threat" by analogy with NATO.

On July 5, Pezeshkian was elected as a president of Iran. On July 30, two days after the decree confirming Pezeshkian’s appointment was signed, the swearing-in ceremony of a new chief executive will be held in the parliament.