President Milanović doubles down on criticism of Israeli officials

President Zoran Milanović responded on Sunday to a post on X by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar earlier this week, in which he accused the Croatian leader of anti-Semitism and called his rhetoric offensive and unacceptable.

The dispute began when Israel’s Ambassador to Croatia, Gary Koren, alleged that the Embassy of Iran in Zagreb could have links to terrorism and said Croatia should investigate. Milanović sharply criticized the ambassador’s comments, prompting the response from Sa’ar.

Speaking during a visit to a chess tournament in Zagreb, Milanović stood by his criticism of Israeli officials, offering more fiery rhetoric.

“The moral blackmail coming from these Zionists — these homicidal maniacs — and they are homicidal maniacs who kill, crush and burn with impunity. These are bad people. If you oppose them, they will label you an anti-Semite or try to morally blackmail you. Me? The grandson of Partisans, who were not just anti-fascists but anti-Nazis!” Milanović said.

“First they destroyed Syria. They helped South Africa acquire nuclear weapons. South Africa? The worst racists of the 20th century. And now they want to destroy Iran because it exists, because mullahs run the country,” he added, referring to Israel.

Milanović also commented on Serbia’s recent acquisition of new weapons. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić acknowledged this week that his country had purchased Chinese air-to-surface ballistic missiles — systems Milanović said no other European country possesses.

He also suggested that Defense Minister Ivan Anušić failed to inform Prime Minister Andrej Plenković about the development.

“They are accumulating offensive weapons, and that does worry me somewhat. But Croatia is in NATO and the European Union,” Milanović said, adding, “Plenković learned this from the newspapers. It appears that Minister Anušić has been keeping from him for months the fact that Serbia has a specific kind of weapon, because then we would need to adjust our weapons acquisitions and procure anti-missile systems. Instead, our first purchase was tanks!?”