Croatian president Milanović: Israel is led by a criminal clique that wants to drag the world into war

ISRAEL is pursuing a criminal policy and we should not do business with such a state because part of its leadership consists of criminals, said Croatian President Zoran Milanović on Wednesday.

"Israel is currently led by a criminal clique and wants to drag the world into war," he said.

"Israel can do whatever it wants, and has been doing so for decades. I believe we should not deal with such a state and such a government. It is simply a criminal policy that leads nowhere and unfortunately has the support of Washington," Milanović told reporters, according to a statement from the President’s Office.

On Friday, Israel launched a conflict with Iran through a surprise and massive airstrike that killed nearly all of Iran’s top military commanders and leading nuclear scientists, and inflicted damage on its nuclear program. Iran responded with a series of attacks on Israeli cities.

Israel's operation in Gaza against Hamas has been ongoing for a year and a half, with many civilian casualties.