The comments came from Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf evidently in reference to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran which began late last month.

Writing on Telegram, he said "we believe that the aggressor should be punched in the mouth so that he learns a lesson so that he will never think of attacking our beloved Iran again", according to a Google Translation.

"The Zionist regime sees its shameful existence as a continuation of the cycle of 'war-negotiation-ceasefire and then war again' to consolidate its dominance," he added, using a term pejorative term Iran often uses to refer to Israel. "We will break this cycle," he added.

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